Divine Intervention
by valeforXD
Summary: When transformed into Pokemon, certain people gain the power of the Annulment, allowing them to erase any one being from existence. Cyrus seemed to be unaware of this when he turned every human in the world into a Pokemon, and now sixteen-year-old Aaron is hellbent on using his new-found power to take him down, no matter what the cost. Rated T for violence and some obscure humour.
1. My Final Wish

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:::::::-[CHAPTER 1]-:::::::

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_Have you ever thought about your future? Y'know, where you're going to end up in a few years?_

_The thought hass more than likely crossed your mind at some point in life. Some of you will think of the careers and relationships that they wish to achieve, while others, the pessimists, immediately come to the conclusion that their life is going to spiral out of control and they'll end up broke and homeless._

_I had never thought about it much, to be honest. I was perfectly comfortable living out my life as I went, leaping over its unfairly placed hurdles as they were thrown at me, rather than worry about every little thing all the time._

_Some may not think about it too much, after all. They would more than likely respond to the question by saying that they alone are the ones who shape their own future, their destiny. To follow your dreams or end up is entirely up to you to decide._

_Others will think otherwise. "We have no control. We are either born into wealth or poverty, and that is where we stay for the remainder of our miserable lives". Harsh words, right?_

_You're probably asking yourself, "Gee, mister disembodied voice-slash-narrator guy who won't shut up about philosophical stuff that can barely be counted as philosophical, what's your opinion on this whole shebang?"_

_...It's a hard question. I mean, sure, we certainly have the power to do a 180 and all of a sudden be on the top of the world, with every other little human and Pokemon beneath your feet. We do have the power to shape our future, and I am a firm believer in that._

_But...recent events have got me thinking about it. You might invent something that changes people's lives. You might inspire a nation with your sporting prowess. You might make a movie, television program or song that people will remember and quote for generations to come. You may even be the hero, destined to save the world from catastrophe._

_But, while your future can be changed, I believe that every human being's destiny has already been carved in stone No matter how well we do in life, every single living comes to the same conclusion; we are murdered, succumb to sickness or simply rot away until we're old, wrinkled skeletons, hollow shells of our former selves._

_In the end, we all die._

_It's the sad truth of things, unfortunately, but that's how humans, Pokemon, and eventually the universe itself will cease to exist._

_I wish to tell you a story. What I am about to tell you is mostly from my own recollection. Though I have harsh opinions of the universe, I don't want to impose these upon you, and instead want for you to read on. Decide for yourself, whether we are capable of shaping our own destiny or not. Decide for yourself, whether I am right or wrong. _

_This is my final wish._

_Chapter 1

Cyrus stared at the little black Poke Ball that sat on the desk. He had been doing so for many minutes now, not moving at all, not saying a word, contemplating what he was planning to do. This Poke Ball... He had his top scientists design it for him, and he had ensured they would duplicate them, and produce them by the million. This ball was designed to capture the hapless creatures he referred to as... Pokemon... But it was much refined to the genuine ball's original design. It had been designed to catch any Pokemon in the world. But the Master Ball already performed that duty, so what was so special about this ball? This little black ball, with a stylised 'G' on the front, immediately telling those who saw it who it belonged to... No, it was much more.

It had been designed to catch any Pokemon, regardless of whether the Pokemon was wild and untame, or whether it had befriended a human and been detained inside a Poke Ball. Regardless of such conditions, Cyrus' new Poke Ball would capture it.

Cyrus was unapparently happy, but at the smae time he began to think otherwise. Was this the right thing to do?

Of course not, he was evil. But, even in terms of Team Galactic standards, this plan was a little out of hand. The creation of a new world, only to be occupied by himself, becoming the sole ruler of an uninhabited land... It was one that was hard to grasp. But, he was sick to death about the beings who existed this world.

They all showed excessive levels of emotion. The one thing he dreaded. The one thing he would never show himself.

He must be rid of them. This was the only way to eradicate the world of these... incomplete beings. He would capture all naturally born Pokemon in the world, deploying the Galactic Balls all over the earth. But not before he turned all humans into the oblivious and immature creatures themselves... He had already succeeded with turning one test subject into a Pokemon. A sixteen-year-old boy, whom had been successfully transformed into a Mudkip, his own Pokemon.

It was too late to turn back now. Only a few more days... And his conquest would be complete.

* * *

Unbeknownst of what was to come, students at the Trainer's School in Jubilife gathered within the school's small battle arena, a grassy oval as a battle was about to take place. On one side was Aaron – a straight A student at the school, who passed with flying colours at every subject. He was the crowd's personal favourite. He had distinct brown spiky hair which was never brushed, which made him stand out well and truly.

On the other side was Nick. He also stood out not on a count of an outlandish hairdo, but because he was a bit of a clown at times, perhaps at the most inappropriate times. He wore glasses and had a large number of freckles on his face, yet despite his nerdy appearance he was the exact opposite.

The two Pokemon Trainers were very good friends with each other, and were both fifteen years old.. They were in this situation because they were being graded as part of a test, the mark of which would contribute toward their half yearly report mark. So this was easily an important battle.

The referee, Mr Sparling, held up two traditional referee flags outwards towards each of the Trainers. "This is a one-on-one battle! The Pokemon to fall first in battle is declared the loser!" He exclaimed. He waved the flags down in a flapping-like motion. "BEGIN!"

Nick was first to react, pulling a Poke Ball from his belt and throwing it onto the field. "Let's go, Totodile!" He shouted as a small alligator-like Pokemon popped out of the ball. It jumped happily, crying its name in joy. Nick's Totodile was his first Pokemon; he had not let it evolve because he wasn't particularly fond of Pokemon that were taller than him – and there were a lot that were taller than him.

No matter what Pokemon Nick had chosen to send out, Aaron had always planned to use one Pokemon from the beginning. He tossed his Poke Ball onto the field gracefully. "Let's do this, Pikachu!" Aaron exclaimed, as he hurled Poke Ball released a stream of red energy mid-air, forming into a small mouse Pokemon with yellow fur, red cheeks, and a lightning bolt shaped tail. There was no triangle-shaped indent at the end of its tail, indicating that it was male. This Pikachu looked like any other Pikachu, with one difference: on its head it wore a green headband, which was a good luck symbol with a unique story behind it. The Pikachu had been wearing it almost for as long as Aaron was his Trainer.

"Oh, come on Aaron! You know that's cheating!" Nick shouted angrily.

"There's no rule against having an Electric type whoop a Water type's butt!" Aaron replied in confidence. "But, because I'm a nice guy, I'll let you have the first move."

Nick sniggered. "Alright... Totodile, let's get this show on the road! Headbutt, let's go!"

"Dile!" Totodile reared its head towards Pikachu and charged at an impressive speed.

But Aaron was aware of Totodile's Headbutt: should it miss, it would keep on rushing until it hit "Dodge it, and use Thunderbolt!" Aaron ordered. As Totodile charged along the grassy field, Pikachu leaped into the air – barely dodging Totodile's head – and allowed its opponent to charge into the metal fence that stood a few metres behind Aaron. Aaron moved out of the way to make way for Pikachu to launch an attack. Pikachu began to charge up energy on the spot while Totodile was down, then with one big burst of energy...

"CHHHHUUUU!" The electric mouse shouted, as it launched a stream of powerful electricity at its helpless foe. It struck Totodile with ruthless speed, shocking it like mad.

"Totodile!" Nick cried in dismay. He realised it was Aaron's plan all along to get Totodile knocked out with his own attack, then strike him when he was vulnerable. It was those sort of things that gave Aaron high marks in these battles, and gave Nick low marks. "Can you get up, buddy?"

Totodile slowly but surely got up off the ground, ready to continue.

Aaron was first to act. "Let's finish this off with a Skull Bash!"

The crowd cheered wildly at the announcement of Aaron's Pikachu's signature move. Pikachu began to build up energy – doing so would provide an opportunity to attack, Nick realised, as he commanded his Pokemon to use Bite on the biding Pikachu.

It seemed Aaron was in a tight spot. But, he thought, _nothing too difficult. I've got just the thing._ "Pikachu, Double Team, now!"

A split second before Totodile's large jaws clamped down on Pikachu, and as the audience around them cheered them on, Pikachu disappeared, only to appear as several fake copies of itself surrounding Totodile in a circle. Totodile took a bite out of thin air and fell muzzle-first into the ground. The copies of Pikachu taunted the poor Totodile, as it confused itself over which was the real Pikachu.

But before Nick had time to command an attack, the copies disappeared, to form back into one solid Pikachu behind Pikachu. The crowd watched in awe as Pikachu's fully charged Skull Bash was unleashed – it launched into the air, spiralling through it at high speed until it smacked Totodile in the torso, sending it down for the count.

"Totodile!" Nick shouted in dismay. "Totodile! Can you stand up?"

But Totodile could only respond in a daze.

"Totodile is unable to battle! Pikachu is the winner! The victory goes to..." Mr Sparling waved a flag in the victor's direction... "Aaron!"

The crowd cheered, as Pikachu ran back to his trainer and leapt into his arms. "Good job, Pikachu!" Aaron exclaimed. "You were great out there today!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried happily.

With Pikachu on his shoulder, Aaron went over to congratulate Nick. "That was a good battle, Nick."

"Are you kidding? I sucked worse than the suckiest sucks who ever sucked!" Nick replied rather angrily.

"Heh... You didn't 'suck,' per se, you just need a little more training." Aaron smirked. "Either that, or I'm just too good a Trainer." He sighed. "Don't worry. If you had battled anyone else then you probably would have won!"

That got Nick's spirits back up. "You're right! I just got unfortunately paired up against you, that's all..."

Aaron scratched the back of his head – he was grateful for nick's comment, but he also had a bit of a dandruff problem. "Shucks..."

Later, Aaron and Nick saw Mr Sparling to see the results of their battling test. "Aaron, as usual, you did very well," He said as he welcomed the two into his office for a spell. "I don't think there's much to explain to you. Top of the class!"

Aaron smiled in delight, but Nick shifted unnervingly.

"And Nick, despite your loss, your Totodile and you show much potential as partners," Mr Sparling continued. "I have decided to award you a rather modest mark of 70 per cent."

Nick displayed a slight smile. "Well, at least I passed. That's the main thing."


	2. Acknowledgements and Volt Tackles

**Hey, guys! valeforXD here.**

**In case you're wondering, I'm the author of this here fanfic, and yes, I am leaving an author's note here. Feel free to skip them; usually it's just things about reviews and why I suck and stuff, so skipping them will bare no negative repercussions. On the other hand, reading them will have negative repercussions. Possibly.**

**So, I'm writing this as I'm around forty-four chapters into the story, and thought I'd come back here to clean things up and heighten your hopes. You may have noticed, at the beginning of the first chapter, that the part in italics was written considerably better than the part proceeding it; there's three years and nine months seperating them, so...yeah. **

**So, I just wanna clear a few things up. Again, feel free to skip this. If you are reading this, though, maybe just take look at dot point number uno:**

**Uno: This was a self-insert. **

**I know, corny, right? Well, yes. But, certain things changed from start-to-finish in an attempt to abolish this apparently terrible label. The only similarities between me and Aaron are first names and tastes in music and games. (Rhyming!) I now consider us entirely seperate identities to the point where I wish I could change the name, but it's a little bit too late now, right? Besides, how many times do you see Aaron used as the name of a main character? So shut up and get over it. Um, please.**

**Dos: I hope I'm spelling these right, so as not to alienate my Spanish fans (all three of them). Anyway! I don't know how well "My Final Wish" eluded to this, but this is a mostly humorous fic. There are jokes and pop culture references aplenty, but if that's not your thing, man up and wait until all the other serious stuff happens.**

**Tres: OCs. Yeah, I requested them when I was young and foolish, but unlike other stories, I actually kinda made them work. So far, original characters from real world friends nickioli13, KinkedSpawn, DylbertsGaming and my friend Luke (who doesn't have an account on anything, really) have had their characters thrown in, while JenakinRamsobi had another awesome one introduced. There was another guy, but if I mention him I believe I will explode from sheer embarrassment. Beware Chapter 26...**

**Currently, markzilla6895's OC is awaiting introduction, but if you wanna maybe submit an OC, feel free! Because Divine Intervention hasn't been completely plotted out yet, there is still a few gaps to fill. Just PM me or leave a review.**

**Quattro: A few corrections.**

**- nickioli13 may be referred to as killerdude035**

**- DylbertsGaming may be referred to as DYLB3RT1993 or ChimcharRoxorzBoxorz**

**- KinkedSpawn may be referred to as SpawnXD, Spawn001 and stupid ass****.**

**- Divine Intervention may be referred to as its original name. The Mishaps and Marvels of Aaron The Pikachu. Epic name change midway through...**

**- There were links in here somewhere, which of course FF bleeped out. Be wary.**

**- I'll go back and edit this out sometime, but until I get the time to do so, just keep some of this in mind.**

**(Again, if you don't read author's notes, this isn't important.)**

**Funf: I can't count past four in Spanish.**

**Sechs: I can, however, count in German!**

**Sieben (I think) Ich habe ein funften September Gerbutstag.**

**Acht: Finally, before this author's note overtakes the length of the actual chapter, Divine Intervention media in general! Not only am I in the process of uploading new chapters and rewriting old ones, there are also a few pics posted on my deviantART account related, mostly, to the story. It's a slowly growing collection that, at the time of writing, is only a few pictures big, though, but go check it out anyway!**

**Nein: Actually, this is the last one. I covered this in Chapter 41, but if you wanna write anything related to Divine Intervention, its characters and lore, feel free! Fanart, as well, if you like! Hell, I don't care if it's yaoi. That's always good for a larf or two. **

**So, now that's out of the way... Shall we continue?**

_Chapter 2

After school, Aaron had agreed to letting Nic stay at his house for the night. Nick was excited by this, not only because he'd get to see Aaron's Pokemon, but he'd also get to square off with him in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. You'll never guess who Aaron's favourite character was.

"I guess you planned that all along, huh?" Nick said quietly as they made their way past the Global Trade Center.

"Planned what?" Aaron was too caught up thinking about his awesome victory.

"The whole thing where you let Totodile charge at your Pikachu, then when Totodile crashed you attacked it while it was down."

"Oh, that. Yeah, it was pretty obvious, because you've used Headbutt so many times in battle now that you can sort of guess when you'll use it. That, plus your Totodile is a bit reckless."

"Maybe I should change my strategy?"

"Well, yeah, sure! But you should never overdo it with training. I've done it a fair few times, and only made things worse. Remember when I first got my Pikachu?"

"Don't remind me. You only got it because you got the highest grade in a test out of the whole school."

Aaron scratched the back of his head - out of embarassment and dandruff this time. "I began to work the poor guy so hard that he couldn't do anything when it came to us battling!"

Nick let out a little chuckle. "Hey, I've always wondered... Where did you get that headband for Pikachu?"

Aaron seemed to wander off into his own world for a minute. He began to remember back when he was ten years old, and life was simpler.

"Uh... Azz?" Nick waved a hand in Aaron's face. "Hellloooo?"

Aaron snapped out of it by vigorously shaking his head. "Oh, right. The headband. Well, it was back when I first started out as a trainer. Back then, I was friends with a kid named Sean. He had white spiky hair and a green headband himself! But anyway, he asked me for a battle one day, and I accepted. I used my Pikachu, and he used his Grovyle, and after a long and arduous battle, I eventually won. The Sean came up and said that he was leaving for the Johto region, and he thanked me for being such a good friend, and gave me his headband. Ever since, my Pikachu has been wearing it as a memento to Sean and as a good luck charm."

"Cool."

By now, they were headed out of town, towards Canalave City, but Aaron's house was in between the two. It was a large house, situated on the side of the road that led to the body of water seperating Jubilife and Canalave. It was a fairly new house, filled with technologies and, what Aaron particularly liked, a reverse-cycle air conditioner.

However, the two heard a rustling in the bushes, followed by a scrawny male voice. They sounded awfully distressed. "Uh, sir?" Nick asked cautiously. He began to walk towards the man in the bush.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Nick..." Aaron commented.

Suddenly, the man jumped out of tyhe bushes and visually introduced himself as a Team Galactic grunt!

"God damnit, I hate it when you're right, Azz."

The grunt let out an evil laugh - but it was so squeaky and chewed up that it made Aaron and Nick laugh even harder.

"What? What's so funny?" The grunt shouted. "I demand that you tell me!" The grunt was no older than 20; he was scrawny and lanky, and didn't seem to pose much of a threat. "If you don't tell me, I'm gonna have to kick your butts with my Glameow!"

That only made them laugh harder. "Seriously, a Glameow? What are you, gay?" Nick jested.

"THAT'S IT!" The grunt threw a Poke Ball in their general direction, releasing a cat with white and grey fur, large ears and a tail resembling a spring. It purred as it landed.

"Fine then, if you want your butt kicked!" Aaron tossed a Poke Ball himself. "Let's go, Pikachu!" The electric mouse Pokemon popped out of its ball and shouted "Pika! as it did so.

"Oh, wow, a Pikachu. Let's all jump for joy because he's got a Pikachu. And look - he's wearing a headband! I suppose that makes him special?" The grunt taunted.

"Pikaaaa..." Pikachu sent sparks from his cheeks, showing he was angry and tense.

"Alright, Glameow! Use Shadow Cl-"

"Brick Break, let's go!" Aaron interrupted in his impatience for the grunt.

"Wait, what?"

Pikachu rushed up to the Glameow and punched it several times, knocking it back, then he finished up with one big uppercut to send it flying.

"Quick Attack"

Pikachu rushed towards the Glameow, the jumped into the air and rushed it with a solid hit into the torso, sending it flying into the ground.

"Okay, we're done here!" The grunt said in response to Pikachu's heavy attacks, but Aaron wasn't done with him just yet.

"Nobody bags out my Pikachu and gets away with it! Show 'em what you can do, Pikachu!"

"Uh, I've already seen what he can..."

"VOLT TACKLE!"

"Oh lord..."

Pikachu began to run super fast, repeatedly shouting the first two syllables of his name while masses of electricity began to shoot out and follow him. He let out one final "Pika!" and slammed into Glameow, instantly knocking it out.

The grunt began to cower as Aaron and Nick stomped over to him. Pikachu jumped up onto Aaron's shoulder, barely breaking a sweat. "Alright, tell us what you were doing in the bush, you dirty ape!" Nick demanded.

"Wow, good call." Aaron commented sarcastically.

The grunt cowered beneath their feet. "Oh God! Just don't hurt me and I'll tell you what's going on, I swear!"

The trainers stopped to listen.

"Tonight, the boss is going to release a gas into the atmosphere that will affect all sleeping humans. I swear, that's all I know! Now just leave me be!"

"A gas? That doesn't sound good, but it doesn't sound bad either." Nick tried to make himself look cool in this encounter: I noticed he had the collar of his school shirt up.

"Nick, put your collar down," I said.

"Sorry," He replied as we continued to my house, disregarding the grunt as a weak and pathetic pile of mush.

Later that night, at about 11:30, Aaron and Nick were playing Super Smash Bros Brawl on the Nintendo Wii. A few hours earlier, Aaron had given Pikachu a bath and taken his headband off while he slept alongside him now. (EPIC FORESHADOWING) The two began to grow weary from smashing the crap out of eachother, so Nick suggested that they turn in for the night. "Okay, I'm really tired," Aaron yawned. Both of them tucked under their sleeping bags and said goodnight to eachother.

"Wh... Where am I?"

Aaron saw himself standing in darkness, with no one with him. "Hello? Is anybody there?"

A woman's voice answered the bewildered teenager. "Aaron..."

"WAAAAAHHHH!" Holy Jesus, you frightened me! Who... are you? Where are you?"

"I cannot dignify these questions with moral responses. I can, however, provide an insight into your future."

"O...kay..."

"Tomorrow shall be an important day in the history of mankind. And you and your friends shall play a large part in this story."

"What are you blabbering on about?"

"I watch over the universe, and I am all powerful. I saw your encounter today with the Team Galactic grunt, and I was very impressed with your battling skills and constant determination."

"Well, thank you, I guess."

"He said that a peculiar gas should be released ino the air tonight, no?"

"Where are you going with this?"

The voice gave out a small chuckle. "You did not believe what he said, did you? Well, I am afraid he was telling the truth. The gas was supposed to turn everyone into, well, random Pokemon. Heaven forbid you, of all people, shall become a Pokemon such as Magikarp! Oh, my, the consequences of such an action!"

"Um, yeah, that would kinda suck... But, seriously? It's true?"

"Not quite," The voice continued. "We had someone tamper with the chemicals, and as such, turning into a random Pokemon is no longer its function. Now, the people of the world will become the Pokemon with which they have the closest bond with."

Aaron began to think. He had many Pokemon, including a Buizel, a Porygon-Z, a Gliscor, a Dragonair, even a shiny Milotic - but there was one which he held a strong bond with that could never be broken. "You mean, I'm gonna become a Pikachu?"

"You're a quick thinker, aren't you?" The voice replied more enthusiastically. "However, this is not the only matter that concerns me."

The fact that Aaron was going to become a small, yelloow mouse subsided for a minute, as he listened to the voice: "Team Galactic is jeopardising the entire universe by attempting to create their own world. They plan to summon the legendary Pokemon Dialga and Palkia, deities of Time and Space themselves, and harness their power to do so. This shall corrupt our own world, and you and your friends have been chosen to perform the task of disallowing them to do so. You, Aaron, and your friends, are our only hope."

"Us? But we're a couple of trainers who still go to school! Why don't you ask... I dunno... the Pokemon League Champion, or Ash Ketchum, or someone experienced to do it?"

"I believe that under your guidance, you shall lead you and your friends to victory."

"But..."

"I am sorry, but the fates have chosen you. Now, I must leave..."

"Wait!" Aaron snapped suddenly. "Please just let me see what you look like."

The voice hesitated loudly. "...Fine. If that is what you wish." A large shape began to emerge from the shadows, easily several times bigger than Aaron. It was blue and white, with red lines running all over its body, constantly glowing. It looked like a large fish, mainly due to what seemed to be large fins with stubby silver digits. Its yellow, beady eyes stared at Aaron consciously.

"Kyogre..."

Suddenly, everything began to fade, including himself...

valefor035: See? It's getting there! The transformation is about to happen, for all you impatient people who just want to see Aaron as a Pikachu.

Aaron: I protest against this. I want to be a Buizel...

valefor035: Shut up and go play Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Aaron: Or the shiny Milotic...

valefor035: You just don't get it, do you? *knocks Aaron into a wall* Whoops, are you okay in there?

Aaron: I'm fantasic. Nothing but gumdrops and ice cream.

valefor035: Oooohh! Can I come in too?

Aaron: Ugh, I'm surrounded by idiots...

valefor035: I thought you said you were surrounded by gumdrops and ice cream...

Aaron: God I hate you.


	3. I'm a Pikachu!

valefor035: Well, this is it, folks! I'm finally up to the chapter where everybody turns into Pokemon!

Aaron: Yeah, it only took you two chapters and 3, 500 words!

valefor035: I'm not going to argue with you. Let's just get on with it, okay?

_Chapter 3

The night was silent, all except for the hooting of Hoothoot and Noctowl in the trees, and the flapping of Zubat wings. All was calm, until a large aircraft, perhaps an airship, appeared directly over Jubilife City. At the bottom, a large hole was revealed, and a seeping pink gas was released upon the city. The gas seeped through the windows and doors of the houses and buildings of the city, as it crept into the bodies of the sleeping humans, slowly changing them from the inside out.

The gas crept through Aaron's loungeroom window, and it slowly flowed into his nose and through his whole body. Almost immediately did his body start to shrink, yellow fur sprouting out and replacing his fleshy cream skin. His hands grew into stubby little paws, as did his feet, and his face had extended into a muzzle, his nose becoming nothing more than a little black triangle, his eyes slowly becoming small and diminuitive, his ears shifting to the top of his head and extending abruptly. Soon, his miniature body was lost in the pjyamas he was now much too undersized to fit in, but he was not even aware of it.

* * *

He awoke hesitantly the next morning at about 7:30. He was still utterly confused about Kyogre entering his dreams last night, and telling him all these weird things.

Then it struck him. "Did what Kyogre say was true?" he said to himself, throwing his pjyamas off of him. That was the first sign that he had changed. As he hopped off his bed, he looked down at his hands - or paws, as it became apparent that his hands had been replaced by these... stubby little things.

"Oh boy, that can't be good."

He rushed up the stairs to the bathroom, leaped onto the basin and looked on the mirror. Unsurprisingly, but shockingly, he saw a cute mouse face stare back at him, complete with beady black eyes, pointy ears with black tips, a small black nose, a cute little mouse mouth, and red cheeks on both sides of his face. This little head was attached to a little body, with stubby arms and legs. Behind him, attached to his backside, a lightning bolt shaped tail stood erect, with a patch of brown at the thin base, and his whole body was covered in yellow fur.

"Kyogre was telling the truth... I really am a Pikachu..." Aaron said, grabbing his ears and pulling them down to his face, as if in distress. The thought of being a little rodent Pokemon that didn't even stand two feet tall scared him a little, but somehow, even though he had the strangest feeling of electricity coarsing through his little furry body, he felt... comfortable. He felt as if he had nothing to worry about.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Aaron's warm and fuzzy feeling left him as he heard a familiar voice pierce his now sensitive ears. "I hear Nick's awake." Aaron jumped off the basin, then leaped out the door and up onto the hand railing on the staircase and slid down on his backside, as a big entrance. "Hey, Nick! What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Nick shouted. He was in the midst of looking at his new, blue, scaly body: his mouth and nose had fused and grown into a muzzle of sorts, he had large, glaring eyes on each side of his head, he had spikes sticking out of his back, he had rather large teeth, but a little body with little claws and little feet to hold his big head up. It was quite obvious he was a Totodile. Anybody who didn't fugure this out by the time the story had started clearly is not paying attention and should go read new Garfield comics. "What's going on? For the love of puppies, I'm a Totodile, and you're acting as if nothing happened! I mean, look at you!" He pointed at Aaron with a small claw. "You're a freaking Pikachu!"

"Yeah, I saw it coming."

"I give up on having any form of rational conversation with you."

"No, I'm not a psychic! Kyogre told me! She appeared in my dreams, and told me we'd all become Pokemon, and you and me and our friends were the only ones able to stop Team Galactic from summoning Dialga and Palkia, and making a new world."

As expected, Nick was reluctant to accept this, or even to believe it. Aaron tried to explain the predicament, but it was to no avail as Nick was just not willing to accept it. "No way. A legendary Pokemon would not appear in your dreams and tell you we had to save the world. Why not the Pokemon League Champion, or Ash Ketchum, or someone more experienced?"

"I tried to tell her that, but then she disappeared..."

With that, Nick got back to staring at his new body. "If the rest of the world are Pokemon, then... Let's go see Luke! Maybe he'll know something."

"Have you not been listening to a word I said?"

"Yes, I have, but Luke's cool. Let's go see him already!"

Aaron knew there was no arguing with the childish Totodile-human, so they left for Luke's house in the suburban part of the city.

Luke was Aaron's other best friend; however this one was smarter than Nick by a country mile. Almost as smart as Aaron was, in fact. When, and if, he was human, he had strikingly long brown hair down to his shoulders, but it wasn't necessarily straight. His brown eyes and bright smile drew the attention of all the girls, yet he still had plenty of male friends. His beloved partner Pokemon was a Treecko, which was almost strong enough to evolve into a Grovyle. Treecko was a very determined Pokemon; it wouldn't give up a fight easily, but it was also a bit stubborn. Nevertheless, Luke loved it to death.

Luke's house was in a suburban area, close to the path of Route 203. It was calm and quaint, this area. His house, while it wasn't as big as Aaron's, was built only recently compared to Aaron's, which was a few decades old. It was small and cosy, just the way Luke liked it.

The two arrived at the doorstep of Luke's house and attempted to ring the doorbell, only to find both of them were a little short. "One of us needs to climb up on the other person's shoulders," Aaron suggested. Nick was quick to act, scrambling up over Aaron and eventually stood tall on Aaron's head. Together, they were no taller than a Raichu on its tippy toes. Nick reached up, standing on his tippy toes, and barely pressed on the doorbell before he tumbled to the concrete, taking Aaron with him.

Aaron stood up and brrushed himself off. "Thanks, Nick."

"No worries."

A voice was heard from the other side of the door. "Who is it?" It was definitelty Luke.

"It's Nick and Azza!" Nick shouted. Azza, along with Azz, Bazz, Bozz, Bozza, and several other variations featuring the letter Z, was my nickname.

"Okay, just one second." A faint and hollow scratching was heard, as it sounded like Luke was having trouble reaching the door handle. "Gah... damn shortness... Why did I have to... grrrr... Why couldn't I be something taller?" Luke sounded like he dragged a chair over to the door. He leaped onto it and opened the doorknob. Aaron and Nick were then greeted to a Treecko tumbling out the door and onto the front lawn with a THUD!

"Hey, look! It's Luke's Treecko!" Nick announced.

"No, it's Luke," Luke replied, slightly annoyed. He hopped up and dusted himself off with his grippy hands. "So, it happened to you too? Geez..."

Luke lead us inside, where we watched as Luke attempted to jump on to the kitchen counter. "Don't mind me, guys. I'm just getting breakfast. You hungry?"

Aaron wan't particuarly hungry - all the sour cream and chives flavoured potato chips were set to keep him full until tomorrow, at least. "No, thanks, I'll pass."

By now, Luke was up on the counter and scavenging through the pantry. He pulled out a box of cereal, shaking it in his stubby hand. "You sure? I got Froot Loops!"

"You sure you should be having that in your current state?" Nick asked.

"Sure I'm sure! We're still technically human, after all. We're just in different skin."

Aaron and Nick were set up to protest, but Luke was alreday pouring the multicoloured rings into a bowl carefully. The box was almost as big as he was. "So, wat are you guys doing here anyway?" He placed the box on the counter, jumped down and headed for the fridge.

"Well, Aaron had a dream last night," Nick started, "And Kyogre showed up in it, he said."

Luke had heard this, but he hadn't replied, searching through the fridge for the milk bottle. "And...?"

"Well, he said she said we have to stop Team Galactic from summoning Dialga and Palkia and making their own world."

"Really? Kyogre told you that? Was Groudon there?"

Aaron stepped in on the conversation. "No, Groudon wasn't there. Just Kyogre."

Luke seemed disappointed. He was always the one to have some sort of fascination with legendary Pokemon, especially Groudon. He had infact seen Kyogre before, on a cruise ship, where he saw it gliding through the sea below him. He was impressed, mind you, but still he longed to see Groudon. "So, Kyogre was in your dream? And she wants us to save the world?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it."

"Well, I'm in."

"Wait, what?" Nick asked. "You're going to actually believe what he said?"

"It means we go on an adventure, and we may even see some legendaries!"

Nick slapped himself in the nose on his snout. "God, help me."

"C'mon, Nick! It'll be fun!" Aaron kept nudging him in the gut with his elbow. "Just come with! It'll be fine, I swear. I shall take full responsibility of your safety."

"Y'know that's a big ask, looking after him. He'll probably force you to massage his claws!"

Nick hesitated loudly. "Alright, fine. But you owe me!"

Luke returned to his hunt for the milk in the fridge. He found it, then leaped back up onto the counter and poured some of it into the bowl filled to the brim with Froot Loops. Aaron, although he liked Froot Loops to some extent, just didn't like the look of them this morning. Perhaps it was the instincts of his new Pikachu body, telling him that they were for humans, not for Pokemon. "Don't say I didn't warn you, Luke," Aaron said, feeling a little wheezy.

Luke scooped some Froot Loops up in his green hands, finding it hard to use a metal spoon, then shoved them under his pudgy nose and into his mouth. What followed was Luke rushing to the toilet and coming out dizzy and smelling of last night's leftovers. "You didn't tell me Froot Loops would do that to a Treecko!"

"Uh, I said don't say I didn't warn you. I know from personal exerience. I tried feeding it to my Pokemon and... Wait, my Pokemon! I forgot all about them! Luke, grab your Pokemon, and we'll go back to my house and get ours."

Luke nodded and grabbed his Pokemon in their Poke Balls. He only had three: his Treecko, Pelipper and Growlithe, but he had always said he only had need for three Pokemon. He brought them out, holding them in his arms if nurturing a baby, then they left for Aaron's house.

* * *

valefor035: Please note, after this chapter and maybe the next chapter, it'll be very hard to post new chapters for a whle. I have a very crappy broadband plan - $15 Australian is worth 200MB, which gets used up quickly, so I can only post at my grandmothers and I only go out there so many times a year.

Aaron: No, you're just lazy.


	4. The Pokemon Are Stolen!

______________________________________________________Chapter 4

Aaron, Nick and Luke rushed for Aaron's house to see if their Pokemon were okay. Hopefully, Team Galactiic hadn't done anything to harm them yet.

It was about 9:00 when they arrived at Aaron's house. Once again piling on Aaron's head, Nick reached up and turned the door handle, and as the door flew open, the two tumbled through it with a CRASH!

"Always making a big entrance," Luke commented with a light chuckle.

After dusting themselves off, Aaron and Nick went to get their Pokemon. Each of them returned a second later, Aaron holding six Poke Balls and Nick holding five. Nick's party consisted of Totodile, Swellow, Nidorino, Magby and Magneton.

"Well, where to now?" Nick asked.

"Well, if we're going on this 'adventure,' then we're going to need one more person, at least."

"Who, Dylbert?" Nick asked.

"Yep, Dylbert! No doubt he'll be a Chimchar, I guess."

There were two ways to loo at Dylan. One way was as a clown who always made a lot of people laugh with his silly antics and jokes. But on the other hand, he was a competent Pokemon Trainer with a distinct battling strategy, yet he had not decided to take the Pokemon League challenge. Instead, he had opted to partake in Pokemon Contests, not wishing to display raw power but wishing to show his team's skills. He wasn't very athletic, which was pretty obvious considering his large build, but he was also colourblind to a degree, and had faint eyevbrows. His party consisted of Chimchar, Luxio and Duskull, a simple team but one to be reckoned with.

Agreeing on the situation, Aaron, Luke and Nick rushed out the door, Poke Balls in arms, and made a dash for Jubilife again.

* * *

As the trio arrived in Jubilife City, amongst a rather large population of Pokemon who seemed disoriented at the idea, a large shadow began to creep over the city. A huge airship appeared overhead, hovering over the tallest buildings. A hatch on the bottom opened, and seemingly thousands of black Poke Balls flew out. The Poke Balls flew towards certain Pokemon, tapped them, then absorbed them before flying back to the airship. Poke Balls were also absorbed into the black Poke Balls alongside actual Pokemon.

Aaron was the first to notice the airship. "Wow, look at that! That thing is huge!" He shouted, unaware of what it was actually doing. "I never knew airships existed. I only really see them when I play Final Fantasy and Super Mario."

"Well, I don't think those airships release black balls that absorb Pokemon and Poke Balls!" Luke pointed out. They witnessed the black Poke Balls whisking around in the air, sucking up some Pokemon and leaving others. "What is going on?"

Suddenly, a group of the balls flew over to Nick, sucking up his Poke Balls and gliding towards the airship. "Hey! Wait a minute!" He shouted, leaping up and attempting to grab the Poke Balls, but they were too far up in the air, and Nick just ended up falling flat on his face.

But before anyone could react, Luke's Pokemon were snatched up aswell, and he was unable to get his back either. "No! Come back!" He cried desperately.

Aaron could only watch in horror as the black Poke Balls came flying towards him, came to a halt before his face, and absorbed is own Pokemon aswell. "W-wait! Leave my Pokemon alone!" Aaron leaped for them, accidentally landing on Luke's gecko-like head, and using the extra boost and altitude to leap even higher. He managed to scrape the side of the ball, but it was too far up to get a firm grip, and it flew away. He caught a glimpse of a stylised 'G' logo on the face of the ball, before he was left to fall to the hard concrete ground, flat on his back. Pain rushed through his back, but he ignored it and rushed after his Pokemon, flying toward the airship amongst others. It was quite a sight, all those Poke Balls grouping in large masses and flying up to the airship and through the round hatch at the bottom. Despite his effort, Aaron had lost his Pokemon. He felt sorrow for all of them, but especially for Pikachu, his trusted partner.

"Pikachu..." He wept. "I swear I'll get you back, buddy! I swear on my life!" He hung his head, saddened, then lifted it again for one last shout. "PIKACHU!" He cried, as the airship began to close the hatch, and the mass of Poke Balls began to depreciate.

"Look over there!" Luke shouted, signalling at a Chimchar attempting to retrieve his Poke Balls, but it was to no avail, as they flew off amongst the last of them to fly through the hatch. "My Pokemon! Gone! How could they?"

"Dylbert?" Aaron asked.

The Chimchar looked up with a tear in its eye. "Wh-who are you?"

"It's me, Aaron! Don't you rercognise your own friend?"

The Chimchar, supposedly Dylbert, waddled up and put a large white hand on Aaron's cheek. "Wow... You got real purdy fur now, Azza..."

* * *

Fur feeling aside, everyone rushed back to Aaron's house to go over everything and make some preperations. In the loungeroom, Aaron stood on the lounge above Luke, Dylbert and Nick, who stood on the floor. "Everyone, listen up! We have to go over everything now!"

"Who does he think he is, the leader?" Dylbert whispered.

"Wow, look at those chubby red cheeks on him!" Nick replied.

"Guys! Be quiet, or else I'll have to Thundershock you!"

"You don't even know how!" Luke replied hastily. "But, do go on."

Finally, everyone was quiet. "Listen up! We are about to embark on a journey of epic proportions across Sinnoh, and possibly other regions too! Our mission is to stop Team Galactic from creating our own world and upsetting the balance of time and space! Or, something like that. We're not only doing this for the sake of our world, but for the sake of our Pokemon!" Aaron turned to Nick. "Nick, have you gathered supplies?"

Nick smiled. "Have you got any idea how big our supply of Oran Berries is at my house? Of course we're supplied!"

Aaron turned away. "There's just one more thing before we go." He leapt off the seat and up to the cupboard, where he had placed Pikachu's headband the night before when he had bathed him, and slipped it on over his own, furry head. He thrusted his fist into the air. "Team Galactic had better be ready for us! Let's do this thing!"

Luke, Dylbert and Nick cheered together, ready for adventure. But Nick had decided to protest. "Shouldn't we get some sleep first?" he suggested. "We have had a big day, after all."

Everyone agreed. "Alright. But tomorrow, we start our adventure!"

Everyone cheered again, but Aaron wasn't cheering. He was determined to succeed, to save all of Sinnoh, and possibly the rest of the world. But most of all, he wanted his Pokemon back.

"Don't worry, Pikachu. I'm comin' for ya."

* * *

valefor035: Up to this chapter, I've had two people review; one of those was me correcting myself in chapter 1, and the other was of one of the guys in the story, Dylbert. So please, read and review!


	5. Will There Be Pie?

___________________________________________________________Chapter 5

Within his dreams, Aaron awoke to a soothing female voice. He stood in darkness again, not as a human, but as a Pikachu now, as a blue, whale-like shape appeared before him.

"Kyogre?"

"Yes, Aaron, it is me. I must thank you for taking up this burden of a task."

Aaron didn't like the sound of that. "Uh… Burden, you say?"

"It will be difficult, but I'm sure you and your friends will prevail."

"But, exactly what do we do? You've just told us to stop Team Galactic. Sorry to say, that's not a very specific description."

"Oh, excuse me, Aaron. I do ask for your forgiveness. Yet, I am unable to stay here for long, as doing so uses too much of my energy. I can only give you so much advice."

"Okay, shoot."

"I do know that Team Galactic will head for the Valley Windworks near Floaroma Town first, as they will try to harness its valuable sources of energy. That shall be your first task: travel to the Valley Windworks, and stop them from harnessing that power. I am afraid I can tell you no more."

Kyogre's body was beginning to fade and appear transparent in the darkness. "I must leave you to carry out the task now…" She disappeared, leaving Aaron still a little confused.

"The Valley Windworks? That's a little while away from Jubilife… I hope everyone's ready."

______________________________________________________________

Aaron awoke the next morning with a large yawn. Clearly, the late night before had badly affected him as he was still half asleep, yet everyone else was awake and ready to go.

"Geez, Azz, looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Luke said, peering around from the kitchen.

Aaron stood up on the couch. "There's only one side," He replied sleepily.

"Yeah, the wrong one, obviously."

Aaron jumped off the couch and made his way for the kitchen, where Luke was helping himself to a bowl of Froot Loops. "Don't you remember what happened yesterday when you ate those?

"Yeah. I chucked up the leftovers from the night before. Fortunately for me, I enjoyed those leftovers.."

Luke continued to make his breakfast, not heading yesterday's warning, so Aaron decided that because he was a Pokemon, he would actually try Pokemon food. It seemed like a sensible idea.

Aaron leapt onto the kitchen counter, then opened the pantry doors to reveal several cans of PokeChow sitting inside. Now, he had to open it, and with his small unprotruding fingers this was going to be a bit of a problem. Having just become a Pikachu, he was unable to perform any special attacks, so the only option left was to slam the can against the side of the counter and hope it would crack.

A minute or two later, Dylbert, still half asleep, slowly strided into the kitchen, only to have Poke Chow splatter into his face, waking him up. Aaron stood on the counter, holding the remains of a can of the oke Chow.

"Uh... Hi." Aaron smiled innocently before jumping down and plucking a chunk of the meaty treat and popping it into his own mouth.

"I'm glad you can find the time to eat your breakfast from my face." Dylbert commented, obviously annoyed as Aaron shoved more and more of the Pokemon food in his mouth.

"Wow! This is actually really good!" Aaron said in the midst of chewing and swallowing.

Nick decided to interrupt the commotion in the kitchen by bursting in and shouting in a joyous tone. "Alright, guys? Who's ready to go kick some Galactic butt?"

The others just stared at him with blank looks on their cute little faces. "Nick, seriously, that's not the thing to scream at your teammates when they've just woken up at seven in the morning, especially when you have meat dribbling down your face." Dylbert replied.

"I stayed up all night working up the courage to do that, and you ruined it."

"Look, we have plenty of time to get reaady, guys," Aaron butted in, seeming to act as leader. "It's best to head out on our journey if we're wide awake and on full stomachs."

He began to explain that Kyogre had appeared in his dreams again, instructing him to go to the valley Windworks to the east of Floaroma Town, as that was where team galactic was heading in order to harness the station's energy for their evil purposes. "It's gonna be a long walk, but if we prepare ourselves properly we should be fine."

Nick raised his left arm.

"Yes, Nick?'

"Um... Will there be pie?"

"No, Nick. There will be no pie. There will be bad guys ready to kick us all the way to Narnia and back. No pie."

"But I like pie better!"

"We all do, but this is for the sake of everyone's Pokemon! We have to do it!"

And so, everyone filled themselves up with Poke Chow, and allowed themselves a little time to fully wake up, before they finally locked up the house and set off on their journey.

_____________________________________________________________________

Aaron was still disoriented by the fact that he was walking on all fours, so as to make a little haste towards their destination, but it was still a little hard for him. His friends had it easy, as their forms allowed for them to walk and run on their forelegs, but if he wanted to go faster, he would have to walk on all fours. He was getting used to it, mind, but it would take time for him to be able to walk fluently.

The team of teenagers-turned-Pokemon had departed from Aaron's house about an hour ago, and were now passing through Jubilife City. Nick was lagging behind at the slightest, because everyone voted on him carrying the supplies of berries and whatnot because he was the biggest Pokemon there. His stubby legs didn't seem to carry him very fast, though.

"C'mon, Nick! Pick up the pace!" Dylbert exclaimed, several metres ahead.

"Why don't you try carrying all these berries, skinny?" Nick insulted back at him. Which is a bit weird, really, considering his previous build when he was human. Still eyeing Nick, however, he bumped into a large crowd circling around a shop window with an old television in it. Aaron and Luke had already rushed over to see what all the fuss was about, and Dylbert and Nick were left behind to bicker at eachother for a while longer. On the TV, footage of a large airship was visible landing near a building.

"Earlier this morning," The voice of the reporter announced in the background, "A gargantuan airship landed amongst the wind turbines of the Valley Windworks."

"An airship?" Luke whispered to Aaron. "That can't mean..."

"The airship supposedly belongs to region-wide crime syndicate Team Galactic, which was hinted due to the stylised yellow 'G' on either side of the aircraft. Local police are now investigating the situation carefully. All citizens and unauthorised personnel are advised to stay clear of the windworks at this time. We'll bring you more on this exclusive story later on in our news bulletin."

The team just stood there for a minute, taking it in. Then Nick was the first to speak: "You mean Team Galactic are already there?"

"That's a little unfair! They can just fly there!" Luke commented.

"That gives us all the more reason to hurry up and get there!" Aaron exclaimed. "If we're lucky, Team Galactic will be there for a while, so we still have time. Let's go!"

With that, the group of friends rushed away and out of Jubilife City, and towards their next destination of Floaroma Town.

_______________________________________________________________________

valefor035: Well, I'm glad that this fic has had over 150 hits, but it's only got one proper reviewer! Dylbert doesn't count cos he's a tool. C'mon, people, please READ AND REVIEW!!!


	6. Show Me Your Moves!

valefor035: Wow, I never thought I'd get such positive reviews! Thanks peeps!

_______________________________________________________Chapter 6

Team Galactic had now landed at the Valley Windworks, and the team of teenagers-turned-Pokemon had only just departed from Jubilife. They were really going to have to pick up the pace if they wanted to catch up.

Now, surprisingly without any interruptions, they were approximately halfway between Jubilife and Floaroma. They were thick in the middle of a forest, and even though they had been walking for a few hours, as the sun was high in the sky, glaring down upon them with its warm rays, they were barely breaking a sweat.

The group had been silent for some time, however Nick eventually broke the silence. "Hey, Azz," He asked, "D'you remember two days ago, in the battling exam at school? Remember how you beat me?"

Aaron, now fully accustomed to walking on all fours, stood up and hesitated. "I suppose you want me to tutor you or something? Y'know, that's just how awesome I am."

The others managed a silent chuckle behind his back, but Nick kept a relatively straight face. "Sort of, although I doubt you're _that _awesome. I betcha you can't even use Thundershock yet!"

Now, at times like this, Aaron tended to be the slightest bit stubborn, and that's exaggerating. "I can so do a Thundershock! I'm a Pikachu! If a Pikachu can't perform a Thundershock, then that's like a Horsea not being able to breathe underwater!"

Nick sniggered. "Prove it, then."

A smile spread across Aaron's furry face. "I never thought you'd ask!" With that, he turned around to face the nearest tree, a small pine tree that was home to a small number of new Pineco. Aaron began to store up electricity within his sacs, as he silently prayed for this to work. _If this doesn't work, I'll look like a total pushover! _He thought.

"Well?" Nick was growing impatient.

With one large burst of the word "Thundershock!" Aaron launched crackling electricity out of his sacs that slammed into the tree he was facing. The tree shook vigorously, causing the resident Pineco to de-attach themselves from the tree and plummet to the ground, landing among the grass with a barely audible thud.

Aaron spun back to the others, a huge grin on his face. "Jealous much?"

"Well," Luke started, "Not really, as you have a group of Pineco riled up at you now."

Aaron spun back to the tree, to see the Pineco hopping madly towards him, shouting all manner of insults or profanities, many of which were much too rude considering the age rating for this fan fiction.

"hey, look! I didn't mean to hurt you guys or anything! I was only using your tree as target practise!" Aaron tried to explain.

"Exactly! You were using our homes as target practise!" One of the Pineco shouted. "At least you can still live in your old home without too much discomfort!"

Another one began shouting. "Yeah! We have to hang ourselves from a tree everyday! You wouldn't like that, wouldn't you?"

Afraid to say something obviously stupid, Aaron muttered quietly: "Um... yes?"

"Oooh, that's it! You are going down, punk!"

"Oh boy."

With that, the pine cone Pokemon began chasing Aaron down, leaving Luke, Nick and Dylbert to sigh and wonder.

"So, as I was saying before we were interrupted..."

The group had reunited shortly after the chase, and although Aaron had suffered from a few Rollout attacks, he was relatively fine.

"Huh? Oh, you were talking about tutoring or something," Aaron replied, exhausted. The dense heat from the blaring sun wasn't helping.

"Well, sort of. I was just wondering if you and me could have a friendly battle, y'know, just spar against eachother."

As exhausted as he may have been, Aaron could never say no to a battle. "That sounds like a good idea. Let's do it!"

Within a minute, Nick and Aaron had seperated themselves by a few metres on the open path rearing to go. "I hope you realise I'm not taking it easy on you just cos you're a Water-type!"

"That's really unfair!"

"Life's unfair! Get used to it."

Nick hesitated, then braced himself for the upcoming battle.

"Because I'm such a nice person," Aaron said, "I'll let you have the first attack! You should try something simple first, like a melee attack. That'll do for now, okay?"

Nick thought for a second. _A simple attack? Well, Aaron was always telling me to use my head, now maybe I can put that to practice. _Instinctively, Nick lowered his head and began to charge at the stationary yellow mouse. To his surprise, he struck him down, sending him flying about two metres away from the point of impact.

Aaron got up and brushed the dirt off his fur. "That's good! You can do a Headbutt! Now, we need to try something a little more complex, like a Water Gun." He stabilized himself, still a little shaken from the Headbutt that had taken him down. "Think you can handle that?"

"I'll give it a try," Nick shyly said, stepping back a step. he began to hold his breath as he took one final breath, then unleashed a varrage of water from his mouth - unfortunately for him, it only went about a metre, coming out as a spray of water more than anything, and it didn't even touch Aaron. A little embarassed, Nick tried to compensate and make up for it immediately, bu attempting another one. This one went a little further, but Aaron only felt the slightest of water droplets.

Luke, standing off to the side of the path, yawned. "Anytme now, sonny..."

"Shut up! I can so do it! watch!" And with all his might, he forced out a blast of water that struck Aaron down like a tree. He fell flat on his face.

Aaron looked up, spitting some of the dirt out of his mouth. "Why is it that every time something happens, I always end up on my face?"

"Your face must really like the ground," Dylbert replied, laughing alongside Luke and Nick.

"I find this exercise utterly pointless," Aaron said rather angrily.

"What, just cause you got pwned?" Nick replied in an in-your-face tone.

"Exactly."

Suddenly, an obvious realisation hit him. "I feel like we're forgetting something, y'know?"

Dylbert sighed. "Team Galactic! We totally forgot about them! C'mon, we have to hurry!" And so they ran in pursuit of the airship.

___________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, within the Valley Windworks' main building, Cyrus looked out a window upon Floaroma Town and the meadows and forest that surrounded it. He had a smug smirk on his face, clearly impressed at his efforts.

A grunt walked in, nervous to be around the big boss who had single handedly devised the plan to bring down the humans so they would not stand in their way. "Uh, sir?"

Cyrus spun around uneasily, causing the lowly grunt to shiver in his silver boots. "Tell me," He began, "How is the plan going?"

"I-I... Everything seems to be going as planned, sir."

"Excellent. Then I have no need for-"

"Except for one intsy little p-problem..."

The smirk on Cyrus' face was wiped clear off almost instantaneously. "What is it?"

"The night that we unleashed the DNA-altering gas upon the world... Well, one of your men was asleep on the job, and well, he..."

"He became a Pokemon himself, did he not?"

"Y-yes..." The grunt looked as if he was about to wet himself.

But much to his surprise, and relief, Cyrus stayed unusually calm. "Bring him in."

Two grunts walked in holding a Glameow by the spring-like tail, dropping it before Cyrus' feet. "Well, well, look what we have here! A disobedient team member!"

The Glameow was shivering more than the other grunt now. "Sir, I-I swear to God-"

"What are you getting so worked up about?" Cyrus said, probably just to keep his mouth shut. "I am a little angry that you would fall asleep on the job, seeing as now you are unable to perform many of the duties that a normal Galactic grunt would normally carry out every day, but-"

"Can't you just change me back?"

"I am afraid the change is a strictly one-way transformation. Permanent, in other words."

"Permanent? But-"

"Let me finish, you incompetent twit. Now, I heard you encountered a rather powerful trainer on the eve of the event, no?"

The Glameow looked puzzled.

"It is Malik, no?

"Uh... it's not _not _Malik..."

"Well, Malik, if he's anything like that Ash Ketchum kid, then he may prove to be a bit of a problem. Your job, seeing as you now blend in with the rest of the world, is to track down and monitor the activities of this boy, then report back here so that we may have someone more skilled in the art of battle take them out."

"Why do we always have to talk about Ash Ketchum, huh? It's always 'Ash did this' or 'Ash did that' or 'Ash has a girlfriend - nobody cares!"

"Exactly! Nobody cares! Now, , get out there and do what you have been told to do!"

With one final cat shreik, Malik ran out of the room, leaving Cyrus to stare blankly over Floaroma meadows.

_________________________________________________________________________

valefor035: Well, so much for Malik, the n00b! Now he's stuck as a Glameow! lol

Aaron: Hey, what about me? That means I'm stuck as a Pikachu!

valefor035: Well, serves you right for being a part of the story. Anyway, please R&R!


	7. Malik

_________________________________________________________Chapter 7

The party of teens arrived in Floaroma Town only a half-hour or so after Nick's little session of training, using Aaron as a punching bag. The flowers in the meadows of Floaroma seemed to be in full bloom, considering it was the middle of spring, and Dylbert commented on how beautiful it all looked. Unfortunately, there was no time to admire the astonishing scenery, as they were still in pursuit of Team Galactic.

Only minutes later did they arrive at the Valley Windworks outside Floaroma's outskirts. The wind turbines that surrounded the main building were spinning wildly, perhaps a little too fast. A sign that Team Galactic were already up to no good.

"We have to get in there and stop them now!" Luke shouted, and off they went.

However, at the entrance, a familiar looking Glameow stepped in the way, halting them to a definite stop. "Stay right where you are!" It shouted.

"And who gave you the right?" Luke replied.

"I have orders from the boss to keep you occupied until he can finally begin to extract all the power from the wind turbines! You're not going nowhere!" The Glameow uncoiled its springy tail and pointed directly at Aaron. "You! I've got a bone to pick with you!"

Aaron seemed dumbfounded for a minute, but then rememberted the battle he and his Pikachu participated in the day before he became a Pikachu himself. "Hey! I remember you! My Pikachu totally wiped you clean the other day! So, what's doing, n00b?"

"I am not a n00b!" The Glameow screamed. "My name is Malik! MALIK!!! And I am gonna take you down right now! Once and for all!"

Aaron yawned, taunting the outraged cat Pokemon. "Nah. I think you're a little too much of a n00b for my standards." He turned to Nick. "Hey, Nick, do you reckon you could take this little guy on?"

Nick's face lit up. "Me? Battle? Sure, leave it to me!"

Luke and Dylbert stood in the background, frustrated. "Hey! What about us?" They cried in unison.

"You serious? You wanna take this puny, pathetic excuse for a Galactic grunt on?"

"Well, yeah!" Luke replied hastily.

"Well... Sucks to be you. You can get a bigger part in the story later."

"Fine, do as you will."

Nick was already stepping up to Malik, ready to take the challenge, not-so-challenging as it may be. "Alright, Makil, or Mahli, or whatever your name is, you are going dow-"

But as he was just about finished wasting his breath, Malik had alreday launched himself at Nick, claws spread wide. Much to his, and dmittedly everyone else's, surprise, he leaped up into the air, barely dodging the sharp claws. While malik was trying to regain his footing, Nick let loose a stream of water forcefully sprayed from his gaping jaw, striking Malik in the muzzle.

"Way to go, Nick!" Aaron cheered him on from the sideline.

Nick continued his onslaught by ramming Malik while he was still getting up with a Headbutt, sending it flying into a nearby turbine. A small but visible crack was left where Malik's head made impact with the base of the turbine.

"Now you're gonna get it, you little brat!" Malik shouted. He began to split up and form several holographic copies surrounding the now disoriented Nick. He was using Double Team, for those who don't have a clue.

"You can do it, Nick! Just take your time and attack the right one!" Luke shouted.

But poor old Nick was too afraid to make a move. _What if I attack the wrong one? But if I don't attack, then he'll attack me anyway! I guess I..._

"Time's up!"

Malik and his copies formed into one Glameow again and attacked from behind, launching a barrage of Fury Swipes at his opponent. When he finally stopped, Nick stumbled back, panting form the intensity from the attack.

"So, you ready to give up yet?" Malik teased the beaten Totodile teenager.

But, panting and sweaty, Nick straightened himself up. "I'm not losing to you!" Without warning, Nick dashed for the Glameow, and, jaw gaping wide, grabbed the backside of the cat Pokemon with his sharp teeth. Malik ran around in circles, trying to shake the Big Jaw Pokemon off of his backside, yelling inappropriate profanities all the way. Nick, obviously enjoying the humiliation of Malik, held on tight. But Malik, reluctant to get him off, smacked Nick repeatedly with his springy tail, causing him to loosen his grip and eventually fall in the dirt.

Nick straightened up, spitting out some of the dirt he ate. Before he had time to regenerate, Malik had already tackled him, bringing back down to the ground. He didn't even have time to get up as Malik had leaped into the air, tail glowing, as it fell to the ground and smacked Nick in the face, further accelerating his pain.

By this point, he was starting tio black out. "I...don't think...I can take him out..."

Aaron was cheering him on. "Come on, Nick! This guy's a wimp compared to you! You can take him out!"

"Shouldn't we go out and help him?" Dylbert suggested.

"No, we don't. he can do it himself."

"But, he's getting his..."

"Look, consider it this way. When Bulma and Master Roshi and all that summoned Shenron in the Saiyan Saga to wish Goku back to life, did they ever consider the fact that they could just wish Vegeta and Nappa away? No, like the fools they were, they wished him back to life, and he got beaten to a bloody pulp anyways. If they wished the saiyans away, it wouldn't have been a very interesting anime series, would it?"

Dylbert beheld a blank look to Aaron. "And your point is?"

"We could help Nick, but to make things more interesting to our dear readers, we let Nick do it so that he can gain confidence in preperation for larter parts in the story. And if we all ganged up on Malik now, it wouldn't be very interesting, would it?"

"Ah."

Nick tilted his head up a little bit. "Hey, you guys are supposed to be encouraging me to get up and win this battle!"

"Whoops," Aaron turned away from the oblivious monkey. "Sorry."

"That's better." Nick let his head drop again. Now, we return to the story.

"C'mon, Nick! I know you can do it!"

Nick started to sit up, slowly but surely.

"That's it! You can't give up now!"

Nick slowly got back up on his feet, clearly gaining confidence. "I... I can do this. I can do this!"

Malik was unimpressed. "My God, you won't stay down, will you?"

Nick began to run towards his reluctant opponent. "I can DO THIS!!!! WATCH ME!!!" He rammed into Malik with a heavy-hitting Headbutt, sending Malik flying into another turbine, flollowed by another forceful Water Gun which further caused a crack in the turbine.

Nick was panting heavily now, but determined to take down his opponent. He stomped his way over to the downed Pokemon. "You thought I was just a pushover, a little Pokemon in a big world. Well, not anymore!" he grabbed Malik by the fur on his torso and held him up against the turbine. "Now, I'm gonna give you one last chance to give up and run off like a scaredy-cat."

But Malik was still rather stuborn. "Me? Run off scared? You've gt to be jokin-"

Nick slammed him against the turbine, causing Malik to scream in pain. "So what's your choice?"

"I'm not leaving! No way!"

Nick clenched a fist and swung it at malik... only to stop millimetres away from his face. He retracted it. "No, my fists are too good for your face. I have another idea for you..."

Everyone was alreday surprised enoughby Nick's little attitude adjustment, but they were even more surprised by the fact that he was using Ice Beam to hold Malik against the turbine, in a similar fashion to a rope. He forze all of Malik's body excluding his head, and continued to cover the base of the turbine in ice to ensure he wouldn't break free anytime soon.

And without so much as a word, he signalled for the others to follow him as he entered the main building.

The others were, quite simply, gobsmacked. "Who'd have thought, eh?"

___________________________________________________________________________


	8. Incomplete

valefor035: In response to Spawn001's outrage against my fanfic, he will finally be entering the story now. And then he'll be leaving again. Oops, I said too much...

Aaron: Good on you, you insufferable ape...

valefor035: Quiet. I'm not the oe who got beaten up by Pineco.

________________________________________________________________Chapter 8

Nick's tiny little foot kicked the door open, revealing the group of Pokemon to an unbekownst group of Galactic grunts. Nick was obviously still... psyched up... from his previous encounter with Malik, who he had left bound in ice to one of the turbines of the Valley Windworks, and he wasn't easing up anytime soon. "Alright, where is he?" He shouted.

"Who do you mean by he?" One of the grunts replied, as if they were no threat at all.

"I dunno. I guess we're looking for the head spaz of this silly little organisation. Who did ya think we were lookin' for, Madonna?"

"I thought you would have. She's more popular than ever."

"Who do you take us for, normal people - er, Pokemon?" Luke snapped. This particular group of teenagers were never ones to be caught listening to the so-called 'popular' music of the current generation. Aaron had once said to Luke that if he was caught listening to such 'pap,' then he would have to shoot him down. As mild mannered the boys were, they preferred rock and heavy metal as opposed to anything else.

"Can someone just tell me where he is?" Nick sighed. One of the Galactics pointed to a set of stairs beyond all the computers and desks, and so they dashed for it. Clearly, Team Galactic weren't the smartest bunch. Either that, or they weren't aware that the Pokemon running to meet with their leader were going to take him down.

Running up the seemingly long set of stairs, Aaron decided to comment on previous events. "So, Nick, I never knew you could use Ice Beam!"

"To be honest," Nick replied, obviously having calmed down a lot, "I didn't know I had it in me. I guess that burst of anger helped, though."

"Well, maybe we should psyche you up before a battle, and then we can't lose!"

"That was a one off thing. Don't expect me to go all psycho again."

Finally reaching the top of the stairs, the team walked through the open door and into, what they realised to be, the top of the main building. At the far end of the room stood a man, about in his late 20's - although he looks much older - with spiky blue hair, and a vest with the stylized G on it, looking slightly more fashionable than his minions. He had an emotionless look about him...

"I see you have made it past Malik..." He announced as he faced them, not showing any more emotion than he previously showed. "I intended to turn the human population into Pokemon to put them out of action, and yet I have a team of first forms thinking they can outwit me and take down my crime syndicate." He chuckled softly. "One can have hopes, I suppose..."

"What is it that you have against this world, anyway?" Aaron suddenly demanded.

"This world... This world of ours is a rather crude one. It is... incomplete, for lack of a better word. We humans and Pokemon are likewise incomplete, and living in this world will forever be an eternal struggle for all of us. My name is Cyrus, I dream of a world with no strife, a world that is perfect, that is... complete." He turned away. "Hmph... But you measly ex-humans would not understand such a thing, for you are incomplete yourselves."

The leader held out his arms to either side, as if signalling to give a hug. "But, I shall soon possess the Lake Pokemon, Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie, all for myself! And with their power I shall be able to forge the red chain, which shall summon Dialga and Palkia to do my beckoning! My new world shall soon come to be!"

He was showing the first signs of even the slightest smidge of emotion, but Aaron didn't like it one bit. "But you must understand, doing that will distort time and space itself!"

Cyrus smirked, still staring off into the distance that was Floaroma Meadows. "I am perfectly aware of that. You see, although you may think this new world is just for the likes of Team Galactic, I intend for it to be occupied by myself, and myself only. You've seen those Galactic fools, have you not? They are uniformly useless and imcomplete, and bringing them to my world would therefore make it incomplete aswell. As long as my plan prevails, and I have my own world, than this world is of no concern to me."

"But you can't just... throw away our world like a piece of trash!" Dylbert cried.

"You're putting innocent lives at risk here!" Nick shouted.

"Before you continue, I feel I have something important to share with you..." Cyrus picked up a button from a nearby table and pressed it, revealing a hole in the ground next to his feet. "A few days before I began to execute my master plan, I managed to capture a test subject and turn him into a Pokemon. I think you'll be particularly surprised with who it was."

A cage with thick metal bars raised up from the hole, a Mudkip locked inside. "Aaron? Luke? Guys?" It spoke in a voice that sounded remarkably familiar to them. "Is that you?"

A sudden realisation hit Aaron. "It's Dylan!"

Dylbert was quick to protest. "Uh, Azz, I'm over here."

"I said Dylan, you nitwit, not Dylbert. And besides, that's a bit of a coincidence that you managed to capture one of our friends. Unless...are you stalking us?"

"Enough of your bickering!" Cyrus pressed the button again, and the cage Dylan was locked in descended into the ground again. Dylan attempted to break free, but his efforts were to no avail. "Now, I shall dispose of you before you become of any more nuisance!" He pulled a Poke Ball from his vest and tossed it to the ground. "Golat, go!"

Out popped a blue bat withpurple wings and a rather large mouth with intimidating looking fangs. It screeched horribly as it hovered in the air.

"Holy Jesus, that thing could take your face off!" Dylbert cried, obviously scared.

Cyrus commanded it to attack. "Now, Golbat, Wing Attack!"

The Golbat shrieked again, before charging straight for the group of Pokemon, wings spread wide and shining brightly. As it was about to strike, Aaron and Nick leaped into the air, and Luke dived towards the side, but Dylbert was struck and sent flying into a wall. Fortunately, he stood up, barely hurt.

"Hmm... Persistant, are we?" olbat flew towards Dylbert, as Cyrus shouted a command: "Golbat, use Poison Fang!"

Almost instantaneously, the bat Pokemon's large, bloodsucking teeth had sunk into Dylbert's torso, and he dropped to the ground in tremendous pain as it released its grip. Nick rushed over to his side, immediately announcing his condition. "I think he's poisoned! Badly!"

Aaron and Luke had dodged another Wing Attack as they looked over to the wounded Chimchar. "Take him to the Pokemon Center! We'll take care of this!" Aaron shouted, panting a little.

"But..."

"Don't worry, we got this! Right, Luke?"

Luke was too busy attempting to Pound the Golbat, who was quick to dodge. Aaron dashed over to join back in again, while Nick lifted Dylbert onto his shoulder and carried him out the door.

Back at the battle, Cyrus was growing rather impatient with the teens' persistence. While he bickered at them, Aaron began to charge up a Thundershock attack, seeing the obvious type advantage that he had over his opponent.

"You could have done that earlier," Luke commented, now standing back and doing nothing. "Maybe then, Dylbert wouldn't be pois-"

"Thundershock!"

"Oh, great, just interrupt me, huh?"

The electricity flowed out of Aaron's cheeks and shot straight at Golbat, who, upon being hit by the blast, fell to the ground, wriggling around due to the power of the electric shock.

Cyrus, of course, wasn't impressed. But, as ever, he had a smug smirk across his face. "Celebrate your victory while you can," He said in an EVIL fashion. "But that battle was simply a distraction while we finished extracting this facility's power for my own!" As he spoke, his airship appeared outside the large window, and an anchor-like object broke through the glass, attached to a lengthy and thick piece of rope. He jumped onto the anchor and gripped the rope tightly. "Being the incomplete beings that you are, you will no doubt give chase to us. Until then, enjoy your lives while you can..." The airship flew off, with Cyrus hanging on and lagging behind, leaving Aaron and Luke to ponder over the situation.

"Some people are just selfish," Luke finally broke the silence with a comment that actually made sense.

"Agreed." Aaron nodded his head. "If he makes his own world, then who will keep him company? Who will he have to share his feelings with, and kiss, and make love...?"

"Aaron, don't be disgusting and unrealistic. Cyrus doesn't have feelings. And I highly doubt that there'll be a woman out there that is as 'complete' as he is supposed to be."

"True, true."

"Look, let's just get outta here. Let's leave this awful place and never return..."

And so they left through the hordes of clueless Galactic grunts, of whom greeted and attempted to make conversation with the Pokemon who were determined to bring down their crime syndicate.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron: Okay, it's about time that I pwned some n00b! My electricity was going to waste, just sitting there, not being used to shock people...

valefor035: You know what? I'm tired of you being such a sook! You're going in the time out chair!

Aaron: I don't wanna sit in that god damn girly chair! Oh crap, I said damn! Oh damn, I said crap!

valefor035: Are you done?

Aaron: Hope I didn't say ass yet...

Immediately after this little situation, Aaron was sent to sit on the chair and valefor035 sat back and made Aaron listen to him play Super Smash Bros Brawl, which he loves, and so he considered this torture. valefor035 questioned Aaron's ability to play the Wii in his current state, as he was barely any bigger than the Wii Remote.

Some people are just selfish. 


	9. Climb Up! And Get The Last Berry!

valefor035: I thank everybody who has managed to stick with me for this long, and everybody who has reviewed my fanfic. I encourage you, if you have any suggestions, to post them in the review section, or send me a message, as I'm still open to ideas! This is gonna be a long story, with possibly a sequel or two as well, and I still haven't planned these, so feel free to suggest any good plot points.

I do apologise if this chapter is a little discrete on content, but I can't think of much else to put in it. And the From First To Last I have playing in the background isn't particularly helping, but if I turn it off, then... I'll cry...

Also, anyone who's a little skeptical about the chapter title, _Climb Up! And Get The Last Berry!, _it is a pun based around the title of a song on F-Zero X, known as _Climb Up! And Get The Last Chance! _Which is also featured on Super Smash Bros Brawl. I think it's an awesome song, even though its technically only 50 seconds long.

Anyway, on with the show!

______________________________________________________________Chapter 9

Daylight was beginning to fade fast, as the sun began to disappear behind the mountainous regions of Sinnoh, turning the sky a bright orange for everyone to enjoy. Aaron and Luke would have enjoyed such a sunset had their friend not been bitten by a Golbat and severely poisoned, so off they ran to the Pokemon Center in Floaroma Town.

Upon arriving, they dashed through the automatic sliding glass door and halted themselves at the front desk. A Chansey sat patiently waiting for someone to come in. "May I help you?" It asked softly. By now, Aaron had assumed it was Nurse Joy.

"Uh, did you get a Totodile come in here carrying a Chimchar who was badly poisoned?" Luke asked, panting heavily due to the run from the Valley Windworks.

"Yes, if you'd like to see them, just walk through the door to my right and take the second right down the hallway." She pointed to the door frame on her right. "Just be careful not to knock the equipment in there, okay?"

"Yes. Thank you, Nurse Joy!" Luke replied as he and Aaron rushed through the door and followed her directions. Upon finding the room, labelled "Poison Ward" on the door, they saw a Totodile leaning over a bed taller than himself, using a box to stand up to see properly.

"Oh, Luke! Azza! What happened?" Nick asked rather calmly.

"Well," Aaron began, scratching the back of his furry head, "Cyrus jumped onto his airship and ditched, and we contemplated the fact that he is a selfish bast-" He stopped to see Nurse Joy had appeared behind him.

"A selfish what?"

"Uh, a selfish... um... Bastiodon! Uh, yeah, a selfish Bastiodon, for lack of a better, more inappropriate word, heh heh... Oh... How's Dylbert?"

Nick turned back to the Chimchar laying on the bed, which Aaron wasn't aware of because he couldn't see atop it. "Come and see for yourself."

Aaron climbed onto the box and looked upon the bed. Dylbert was curled up in a foetal position, with his lanky hands on his gut, moaning in pain as he squirmed a little.

"He should be fine," Nurse Joy announced after a period of silence. "All you need to get rid of the poisoning is a Pecha Berry. But, unfortunately, we haven't a single one in stock now."

"That's okay!" Luke shouted. "We'll just buy one!" He opened up the bag that Nick had been forced to carry the whole journey, which had been sat on the bedside drawer. "Or, we would, if we had money."

Nurse Joy began to think. "Well, there is one other option..."

The three unpoisoned members of the team gathered around Nurse Joy to hear her words of wisdom. "The only other place you could possibly get Pecha Berries is in the Floaroma Meadows. There are a few in there, provided the local Bug Pokemon haven't eaten them already."

"Okay, then we'll go to the meadows!" Nick cried. "But, who's gonna stay here and keep Dylbert company while we're gone?"

Luke and Nick both stared at Aaron, still atop the box and looking over the injured Pokemon in question. "Who, me? Oh, come on, guys! I'm the main character of the story, and I deserve to do all the important things in this story!"

"Yeah, all the _important _things. I consider retrieving berries not so important."

"Okay, fine. I'll stay here, and tell Dylbert stories. You guys go off and have all the fun."

"As long as you're okay with that, then we sure will!" And with that, the two dashed off.

Aaron turned back to Dylbert, a little disappointed. "Well, a story, then? Okay, there was once a girl called Little Red Riding Charmander, and her mother wanted her to take a basket of... a basket of Protein to her grandmother Charizard's cottage."

"Wow, that sounds very... inventive..." Dylbert managed to say, albeit very weakly.

"I'm glad you agree! So off she went, until she encountered a Mightyena who said 'I am gonna eat y'all up, fool!' And Little Red Riding Charmander said, 'How about I just Flamethrower your ass?' And then the Mightyena ran off with its tail on fire..."

Dylbert yawned in frustration as he heard a classic children's fairy tale become messed up.

* * *

While Aaron poorly portrayed his version of a fairytale to a sick and frail Dylbert, Luke and Nick had already found themselves thick in the middle of the Floaroma Meadows, aligned with beautiful, colourful flowers of red and pink and yellow, all producing the most uplifting of fragrances, a pure joy for one's nose to whiff. In the sunset, they looked more breathtaking than ever, and as the two strolled through the masses of the flowers, witnessing the aroma seeping from them, they began to stroll through the meadow slower, to savour the sweet smell.

"They're so beautiful..." Nick commented, as if in a helpless daze. "They smell like my mum's bathroom soaps..."

"Jeez Louise, they don't smell anywhere near that bad!" Luke playfully insulted. Usually, Nick would be one to retaliate with his own silly punchline, but the flowers kept him in a surprisingly calm mood. "I think they smell like-"

SMACK!!!

Luke had managed to walk straight into a tall tree, his face leaving an imprint in the bark the same shape of his head. The tree sat all on its lonesome in the meadow, with other trees sitting hundreds of metres away. "Damnit!" Luke cried, rubbing his bulging nose. "Who puts a tree here? I mean, it's common sense..."

Nick looked up through the leaves and branches of the towering tree. "Look! Up there!" He pointed with a little claw towards an object hanging off one of the branches. "A Pecha Berry, maybe?"

Luke observed the object in question. "I think it is. But how do we get it from all the way up there?"

"Well, you are a Treecko, and Treecko is a _wood gecko _Pokemon..."

"I'm not following you."

"Look, Treecko have little grips on their hands and feet, allowing them to _climb up _certain surfaces, like, for instance, this tree."

"Just stop! You're going around in circles!" Then Luke clicked his fingers. "I got it! I'm a Treecko, and Treecko are excellent at scaling certain surfaces. I bet I can climb this tree!"

Nick slapped his forehead. Luke turned around, a little confused. "Are you okay?"

He hesitated. "I'm fine, just having an aneurysm."

"Huh. Didn't think you'd be that stupid, Nick."

"Just get up the damn tree!"

Luke, afraid that Nick would claw at him for being so silly, began to race up the tree, not before noticing a Heracross also attempting to climb up the tree. "That Pecha Berry! It's all mine!" It said, tongue hanging out like a dog.

"Luke! Looks like you got some competition!" Nick cried, as Luke was beginning to anchor himself on the tree. "If we want that berry, you'd better get a move on!"

Luke put one hand in front of the other, and pulled himself up. "This is easy! It's just like rock climbing, only with no harness, and nothing to catch you if you fall except an oblivious Pokemon with an outlandishly large jaw..."

"Just stay focused on getting that berry, and once you get up there, don't look down!"

* * *

"...And so, Little Red Riding Charmander arrived at Grandma Charizard's house, and knocked on the door, and said 'Nanna, you twit, open the freakin' door!' And Grandma Charizard said, 'It's already open, fool!' So Little Red Riding Charmander went in, and saw her grandma, and said, 'My! What black fur you have, Grandma Charizard!' And the grandma said, 'What, you bein' racist?' ''

* * *

Luke slowly but steadily scaled the tree's thick trunk, as the Heracross was slightly out in front of him. He began to pick up the pace as his opponent climbed further and further away, and soon he was bridging the gap between them quickly.

Now, he was about three quarters of the way towards the berry, but it was impossible to climb the rest due to branches eclipsing the trunk. His only option was to climb onto one and jump from branch to branch, so he carefully pulled himself up onto one, stood up, and balanced himself. By now, he had easily overtaken the Heracross, who was barely halfway up.

"You're doing good, Luke!"

Nick was shouting from the bottom, which made Luke look and lose his balance. It was a great distance to the ground, and he wasn't ready to fall off yet...

"Oh, shouldn't have said that. Just ignore me and keep going!"

"It's a bit hard to ignore you when you're screaming at me!"

"Okay, I'll be quiet!"

Luke leaped for the next branch, losing his footing as he did, causing him to slip as he leaped. He grabbed the next branch, hanging for his dear life. He managed to pull himself up, however, and jumped to the next branch with little trouble. Soon, he was jumping from branch to branch in perfect momentum, leaving the Heracross far behind. He finally grabbed the Pecha Berry hanging from the branch, before scuttling down the tree with ease.

Nick met up with him at the bottom. "Good job, Luke! We got the berry!" He cried happily.

Luke turned around to the Heracross who he had been racing, and stuck his tongue out and did a big, sloppy raspberry. His opponent was somewhat disappointed, but simply flew off.

* * *

"...And then Grandma Charizard was like, 'Nah-uh!' And the Big Bad Mightyena was like, 'Yah-huh!' And little Red Riding Charmander said a bad word and got a slap on the tushie! And then Little Red Riding Charmander said 'Son of a..."

"We're back, guys!" Nick and Luke ran through the door.

Aaron was a little annoyed. "We just got to the good part of Little Red Riding Charmander!"

"What, the one where the Charmander is racist and the Mightyena talks like a black dude?"

"You've heard it, too, Luke?"

"I think I'm having another aneurysm."

"I knew you were stupid, but not that stupid..." Aaron laughed, then realised something as he looked at his bedridden friend. "Oh! Did you get a Pecha Berry?"

Luke handed it to Aaron, who offered it to Dylbert. "Here, open your mouth."

Dylbert responded, opening his mouth as Aaron popped the berry in. He began to chew for a minute before swallowing deeply.

There was silence. "Well?" Aaron said.

Dylbert sat up. "I feel... better. Still a bit sick, but much better than what I was." He turned to Luke and Nick. "Thanks, guys. I owe you one."

"What about me?" Aaron interrupted. "I sat here against my own will, telling you an awesome story!"

"And I'll die happy if I never hear it again."

Everyone laughed as Nurse Joy walked in the room. "It's getting dark outside. Perhaps you boys would like to stay the night?" She offered kindly.

"Oh, no, we don't want to cause any trouble!" Luke said.

"It would be my pleasure," Nurse Joy replied, "And I simply won't accept no for an answer."

Everyone thanked her, as the four of them moved off to another room to accommodate for the night.

* * *

valefor035: Well, that turned out to be longer than I thought!

Aaron: Good. Now we can get back to the main plot.

valefor035: Y'know, that story you told was pretty upsetting. And, seriously, Little Red Riding Charmander was quite the mouthful!

Aaron: Why don't you just climb up, and get the last brain!

valefor035: Funny. Not.


	10. Dirty Aaron

valefor035: How ironic. The chapter that I intended to be my shortest somehow turned out to be the longest! Wow, Chapter 9 was weird, though. Anyway...

_______________________________________________________________Chapter 10

Aaron was tossing and turning in his bed at the Pokemon Center. He was beginning to have strange images appear in his head, and they were disorienting, scary, dramatic, but they were of his own past. He hadn't had the most enjoyable of childhoods as a young boy, and many nights, these past events came back to haunt him. The images he saw depicted in his mind were incredibly fuzzy, and so he could only hear voices within.

"No... No..."

_What are you doing to us?_

" _Oh God..."_

_Please, have mercy!_

_Aaron? Sweetheart, get out of here before they get you too!_

" _Wait, don't leave me!"_

_Son, you have to do as we say! Now, get out of here while you still have the chance!_

_Please, for the love of God!_

_This is what you get for showing pity for your fellow living beings..._

"_Leave them alone!"_

_ZZZZZAAAPPPPPP!!!_

Aaron immediately sat up upon hearing the crackling sound of intense electricity. He couldn't see it, but he knew exactly what had happened.

"Mum... Dad..."

The sun's rays crept through the gap in the pink curtains, hitting Aaron's closed eyes, making him shift around in his large bed. He was still tired; the experience he had last night had taken its toll, keeping him up for half of the previous night, so he turned his back to the sun and tried to drift off into sleep again. But he was awoken again by the hands of Nick shaking him vigorously.

'C'mon, Azz! Is this all you're gonna do the whole time? Just sleep in?" He questioned impatiently.

Aaron slowly sat up, still feeling a little dizzy as if blood was rushing to his head. "Yeah, hey, Nick..." Aaron replied in a rather mopey mood.

"Are you okay?" Nick took his hands off Aaron's furry back.

Aaron hesitated after a long silence. "Look, it's nothing. Just... Had a bad dream."

"You sure? It doesn't seem like nothing."

Aaron yawned, stretching his little arms, before hopping out of bed. "No, no, it's fine. Don't worry about, seriously."

"If you say so... Um... We'll be leaving soon, just so you know. The others have been up for a little while now, so..."

"Okay, I'll be out in a few minutes. I just need some time alone, okay?"

Nick nodded his head and left, leaving Aaron to stand there, trying to cheer himself up. "Huh... Every time I have that dream, I always get so moody. I just... I can't get over it..." He hesitated, and stood strong. "No. I have to try and forget. I have to move on, and quit living in the past. My team mates are counting on me! I have to be strong!" And with that, he bounded out the door.

Luke, Nick and Dylbert were waiting near the entrance of the Pokemon Center, Nick carrying the bag that he had been carrying thus so far. "Oh, there he is!" Nick cried, as he saw Aaron climbing down the stairs. "You okay now, Azz?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bad dream, that's all. Plus I was a little tired..." He suddenly smiled. "But we can't let my one little inconvenience set us back! Let's be off!"

"Only one problem..." Dylbert butted in. "We have no idea where Team Galactic are headed now, so where do we go?"

That got everyone thinking for a minute, then Luke broke the silence. "I say we go to Eterna City. Even if they aren't there, we're still going to need some form of reasonable accommodation. And it's the closest town from here."

"Eterna City it is!" Aaron announced.

Dylbert's belly was now grumbling fiercely. "Oof... I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday! Let's eat first!"

Nick was first to second that idea. "I'm keen to try out some Poke Chow! You said it was good stuff, Aaron, right?"

"Better than Froot Loops and leftovers..." He obliviously eyed Luke, who could only shrug. "What can I say? My mum makes a good meat loaf."

"I concur. Let's grab some eats."

Nurse Joy had soon served them some specially made Pokemon food, which the other members of the team were reluctant to try, until they saw Aaron stuffing his face full of the treat. Luke eventually tried it, and in a minute his plate was gone, and in the next five minutes all four plates were sparkling clean, albeit with the slobber of four hungry teenagers.

Within just a few hours under the stinking hot sun for a second day in a row, the team found themselves staring Eterna Forest down the track, its tall and incredibly thick trees towering over the path, housing many kinds of Pokemon. Hoothoot and Starly seemed to be most abundant, among other common species.

"It seems pretty dark in there," Nick commented, shuddering heavily on the spot.

"Well, unless anyone of you knows Cut, then this is the only way to go," Aaron explained, before leading everyone into the forest. "And besides, if we did have Cut, then we'd be taking the safer way out, and that'd be pretty boring for our readers."

"Stop breaking the fourth wall!" Luke cried.

"Huh?"

"Acting like you're fully aware of the fact that there are people reading of our adventures. Attempting to make conversation with them is only going to ruin the illusion that this whole thing is even real, and just stuffs up the experi-"

"Now I think I'm having an aneurysm."

Luke slapped his head, annoyed. "How is that even possible?"

"Well, I have a nose bleed at least..."

"Let's just go."

As they advanced into Eterna Forest, the world around them grew eventually darker until sunlight was barely shining through the crowns of the tall trees. The ambient sound of birds chirping and bugs scuttling was becoming increasingly unnerving for Dylbert, who was so shaky and scared he was having trouble walking on his wobbly legs. "Guys, I'm scared..." He winced.

"Don't worry, we'll be out of here soon," Aaron assured, although he wasn't sure how far the forest stretched on. "I'm sure that we'll – OOF!" He had stopped when he had bumped into another Pokemon on the road, falling back onto his tail.

The Pokemon turned around and looked at the Pikachu in the dirt. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" The Pokemon was a Turtwig, and it spoke with a young woman's voice.

Aaron stood up and dusted the dirt out of his fur. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to... hey, wow! You're a weird looking Turtwig..." Aaron announced, pointing out the darker green colour of the Turtwig's skin and the black shell on its back.

"Well, it's only natural that a Gym Leader like me stand out from the crowd!"

Aaron suddenly jumped. "A Gym Leader?" He thought for a moment, and judging by the Grass Type Pokemon that she was... "You're Gardenia, right?"

Gardenia smiled delightfully. "I sure am! The one and only Eterna City Gym Leader! Glad you recognise me. Other people have been mistaking me for Erika! Some nerve..." She whispered under her own breath. "So, anyway, what brings you to this neck of the woods? Metaphorically speaking, or whatever, since we're in a forest anyway..."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. What are you and your friends doing here?"

Aaron introduced himself and the team. "Well, my name's Aaron, the Treecko who likes vomiting is Luke, the big whining crybaby Chimchar is Dylbert, and the socially challenged Totodile is Nick." He began to explain their situation to Gardenia, of how they were picked to bring down Team Galactic. "We got no idea where they're headed, so we're just heading for Eterna City for now."

Gardenia nodded, before breaking the short silence that followed. "Well, we're you planning to collect Gym Badges along the way?"

Aaron suddenly perked up. "Gym Badges?" He hadn't thought about such a thing, considering they were chasing down a crime syndicate and not leisurely travelling around Sinnoh. That, plus he was a Pikachu. He didn't think Pokemon were eligible for entering the Pokemon League.

"You didn't think about entering cause you're a Pikachu, right?"

Aaron nodded.

"Well, you don't see any humans going for the Pokemon League now, do ya? You can still enter, even if you are a foot or two tall and have a tail! If you want, we can have a Gym Battle today!"

Aaron had now forgotten all about what had happened the previous night, as he was now smiling with delight. "Okay! Then I guess we're having a Gym Battle!"

Gardenia suddenly stood still, disregarding what Aaron had said. "Ssshhh!" She whispered. "Keep quiet!" She was facing a tree, where she had heard a rustling in the lowest set of branches.

The others had wanted to say something, totally confused as to what Gardenia was doing, although their questions were answered when a Beedrill suddenly flew out of the bushes, wings buzzing and barbs outstretched towards Gardenia!

"Everybody, stand back!" Gardenia shouted. "I can handle this!"

As the renegade Beedrill drew closer and closer with every breath, Gardenia opened her mouth wide and began to form a green ball of natural energy in front of her. Only a metre or two away from being jabbed by the enemy's barbs, Gardenia launched the Energy Ball at her foe, striking it down rather quickly. It fell to the ground with a thud amongst a cloud of thick dust.

The others watched from a distance, obviously impressed by Gardenia's skill. Infact, Aaron was a little bewildered by it, actually scared that he'd be facing up to such an opponent.

"But, wasn't that a human, Gardenia?" Luke asked.

"I think so, but it was as if it thought of us as mere intruders... Odd..."

Within the next hour or so, everyone had arrived in Eterna City. The city showed few remnants of its original architecture and building, as it had mostly been replaced by sturdier, more modern buildings. Many would agree that the residents of the city were losing their original sense of culture of the old city.

Gardenia led them to her own new building in town, her Gym. Inside, it was a simple, natural arena made of dirt, with trees surrounding it and a stand to sit on located on the right side of the arena. The ceiling was made of glass so that the trees would receive natural sunlight from within the Gym.

"So, this is it, folks!" Gardenia announced. "As soon as you're ready, Aaron, we'll begin."

Aaron stepped up, cracking his small knuckles. "Ready? I was born ready. Let's do this!"

Aaron and Gardenia situated themselves on opposite sides of the arena, standing firm and strong and ready for battle. The referee, a Sceptile, stepped up to the side of the arena, a red flag in one hand and a green flag in the other. "The following contest is a one-on-one battle! The last person – or should I say, Pokemon – wins! There is no time limit!" He held the flags out to either side of his body, pointing towards the competitors of the match. "You may BEGIN!"

Right off the mark, Gardenia began to charge up an Energy Ball, but Aaron was left to think while she did so. _Oh boy, what do I do? I should attack her while I have the chance, or should I dodge it and attack while she's recharging from the-_

"Energy Ball!"

The Energy Ball went charging straight for the disoriented Pikachu at an alarmingly fast speed. Aaron was quick to act, as he jumped over it, barely dodging it, then landed with a triumphant barrel roll.

"Oh my, he is quite fast!" Gardenia said to herself, although everyone had heard her.

By now, Aaron was charging at her before slamming into her, sending her back a few feet. However, she was still standing strong. Before she had time to come back at him with a sorrily witty remark, Aaron had swung his tail into her face, sending her flying across the field, and landing on her back. She jumped back up, breathing faster than usual, but clearly still going strong.

Aaron decided on a ThunderShock attack now. He began to charge up the electric energy in his cheeks, then released it at Gardenia who was barely getting up from the last attack. She was forced down onto the ground again, and now she was beginning to struggle to get back up again.

"How do you like them apples?" Aaron cried joyfully.

"I'm afraid we're far from done, my friend!" gardenia replied back, as she began to glow brightly, drawing in nutrients from the sun's rays. She was revitalised in an instant.

"What the..." Nick said to himself from the stand.

Dylbert began to explain. "That's Synthesis, a move learned by some Grass types. Using the nutrients from the sun's rays, Gardenia can regain her health and continue battling as if nothing happened."

"But that means..."

"Gardenia can just keep using it whenever she wants, rendering Aaron's attacks useless."

Luke gasped. "So she can just keep using it and attacking Aaron until she wears him down!"

Aaron sniggered from within the arena, not hearing a word his friends had said. Even so, he was fully aware of the move Synthesis and its effects. "So I guess that's why you had the sunroof installed!" He said, panting a little. "Clever strategy, Gardenia. But I got one question for ya."

"What's that?" Gardenia asked.

Aaron let out a little chuckle. "Do you feel lucky?"

valefor035: Oh, the suspense! I love it! Anyway, I may not be posting a chapter too soon, as I got my Year 10 Graduation, and I just moved into a new house, so I'll be a bit busy. Come holiday time, which is in a week or so of posting this, I should be able to write a fair few chapters, so just be patient with me, and we'll see what happens to Aaron!

Aaron: Hey, I know what happens! I totally-

valefor035: Get your butt kicked, I know. I'm going to go play MadWorld now.

Aaron: Yeah, we all know you love Jack Cayman!


	11. I Do Feel Lucky, Thanks

valefor035: Sorry to leave you at that critical moment in the story, I figured the chapter was long enough for now. Anyway, we shall see if Aaron gets his way against Gardenia (and I mean that in a clean way, for all you dirty people out there reading Zoo Weekly in their free time).

_________________________________________________________________Chapter 11

"Clever strategy, Gardenia. But I got one question for ya." Aaron said, trying to make himself seem smarter than he looked.

"What's that?" Gardenia asked.

Aaron let out a little chuckle. "Do you feel lucky?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

'Um... I don't know. I just wanted to make a cool movie reference."

"You don't even know what movie that's from, do you?"

"No, ma'am..."

Aaron was currently stumped. Gardenia, his opponent, was using Synthesis whenever she was badly damaged, and because she could keep using it over and over again, it was going to be a long battle.

Gardenia smiled as her Synthesis move finished. "Now, shall we continue?" She said.

"My pleasure!" Aaron cried confidently, as he launched a ThunderShock her way. It bounded along the rough ground towards her and struck her, making her flail wildly before dropping to the ground. Before she had time to get back up again, Aaron had tackled her and made her fall to the ground. As he jumped back, though, Gardenia stood up and shook it off.

"Aaron!" Luke shouted from the sidelines. "Gardenia's a Grass-type, so Electric-type moves won't affect her much!"

Aaron slapped his forehead hard. "Oh, DUHH! What was I thinking?"

Gardenia smiled again. "Go on, Aaron. Take your best shot! I can take anything!"

Aaron began to charge up more electricity, hoping to launch a ThunderShock powerful enough to knock her out and prevent her from healing herself. He launched it with immense power, striking Gardenia down again, making her flail about like a bird trying to fly. As she stood up again, she was starting to show signs of slowing down.

"He just doesn't learn, does he?" Luke said, slapping his forehead. "What on Earth is he trying to do?"

But Gardenia just giggled rather childishly, once again drawing in the nutrients from the sun's rays to heal herself to some extent. Largely revitalised again, Gardenia stood tall and strong as if Aaron's attacks had done nothing to harm her. "Oh, Aaron, you just don't get it, do you?"

Aaron could hear Nick whispering to the others from the sidelines. "Y'know, if this were his Pikachu, he would have taken her out by now..."

"I heard that!"

Nick jumped. "Er... I mean, um..." Nick thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I got nuthin'."

While Nick was distracting Aaron. Gardenia shot glowing yellow seeds from her mouth as if she were a machine gun, striking Aaron down quickly. He was sent toppling towards the wall, slamming against it with a THUD! before sliding down it slowly, making a squeaky noise against the metal wall as he did so. As he stood up, slowly but steadily, Gardenia had launched an Energy Ball his way. He quickly dodged, jumping to the left and once again landing on his face.

"It's always with the face," Luke commented.

He pushed himself up, shaking a little, but still able to battle. "I have to... take her out before she uses Synthesis again..." He tried to think of a move powerful enough to make her faint in possibly one hit, and there was only one such attack he could think of...

"What's wrong, challenger?" Gardenia taunted. "Had enough yet?"

Aaron steadied himself on the rough, dirty ground, beginning to bide his energy. He lowered his head, and chuckled. "I'm only getting started!"

Gardenia gasped, realising what Aaron was going to do. She resorted to using Synthesis again, but as she began to draw in energy to heal herself even more, Aaron suddenly shouted:

"SKULL BASH!"

He spiralled through the air at an intense speed, too fast for Gardenia to even attempt to dodge as he had struck her rather hastily, sending her flying across the field and landing on her shell.

Aaron landed squarely on two feet, almost toppling over on a count of his dizziness. He stared at Gardenia, who was trying to get back up to continue battling, but she gave up.

The referee Sceptile held the red flag towards Aaron. "Gardenia is unable to battle! Aaron of Jubilife City is the winner!'

"I won!" Aaron shouted at the top of his lungs. "I actually did it! WOO!"

"Good for you, Azz!" Luke said as he ran over to him from the sidelines. "Keep this up and you'll be champion in no time!"

Aaron blushed. "Aw, shucks..."

A few hours later, as the sun was beginning to disappear behind the mountains, Aaron and friends were about to leave the Eterna Gym, and Gardenia had came to say a few words as they stood outside the main door.

"Aaron, for beating me in a fair contest of strength and smarts, I present you with the Forest Badge from Eterna City Gym!" She handed it to Aaron, who stared at it in his hot little hands. It sparkled dimly in what was left of the fading sunlight.

"Y'know, I probably should be doing a big song and dance about this," Aaron started, "But then I'd look like a real idiot. A bit like that Ash Ketchum guy. Make myself look a bit more mature in the eyes of my opponents."

Luke hesitated. "You've already proven your childishness, Mr. I WON! I ACTUALLY DID IT! WOO!"

'Be quiet. I didn't ask for your input."

Luke laughed. "Oh, I'm only playing with ya! It's only natural to do that after your first Gym Battle!"

Aaron smiled again, knowing that he had actually accomplished something that day. However, the happiness faded as a large shadow appeared overhead. As they looked up, they discovered a large aircraft hovering loudly over them.

"Well, I guess we gotta go. Team Galactic has crashed the party," Dylbert said.

"I won't keep you any longer, then," Gardenia replied, as the others began to follow the Galactic airship. "Good luck on your journey!"

Aaron thanked her as they ran off after Team Galactic.

However, in the corner of his eye, Nick saw something lurking about behind the Gym. "Hey, look over there!" he cried, pointing in the direction he saw whatever it was behind the Gym.

The others looked in that general direction, but saw nothing of interest. "What is it, Nick?" Luke questioned.

"I thought I just... Bah. Never mind. Let's keep going."

Cyrus stared interrogatively at his Mudkip captive, waiting for a response from him. Dylan, however, still contained within his small cage, was reluctant to even open his mouth. He appeared battered and bruised all over his small body, as if he had conflicted heavily with someone, or something.

"You are going to tell me what they are up to, my friend." Cyrus demanded subtly. "Or perhaps you would like to tango with our Garchomp again?"

"I'm not telling you anything!" Dylan suddenly shouted. "Not ever! Not if you're going to hurt them!"

"I do not want to hurt them," Cyrus replied, sounding a little offended. "I simply want to erase them from the picture."

"That's the same thing, really, you stupid limey."

Cyrus sniggered with his back turned to Dylan. The airship that they were aboard was landing at their Eterna City building at present, and Cyrus was sure that they would be here too.

"You know, Dylan..." Cyrus began in a deep voice. "Perhaps in another life, we may have been friends, you and I. Me, disregarding all emotion, and you, Dylan..." He spun around at this point. "You have an unrelenting evil inside, waiting to be awakened and unleashed upon this pitiful world we inhabit."

"What are you talking about?"

By now, the airship had landed alongside the building, visible out the window that made up most o the walls of the room. "I can sense it in you. You don't belong with them. They show emotion, too much of it. They want to bring Team Galactic down, and stop us from creating a perfect world for ourselves!"

Dylan turned away in his little cage. "That's all a lie. You said that you wanted to create a new world for yourself, because you are the only being in the world to be 'complete.' You want to kill everyone just to get your own way."

"You are more difficult to reason with than I expected," Cyrus said.

The door to the room slid open to reveal a Glameow rushing in, panting. "Sir, I... I found them!"

Cyrus perked up. "You did?'

"...Yeah. They're... They're headed here now. They... just left the Eterna Gym a few minutes... ago...Ohh..." He plopped to the ground, all four legs spread out like a starfish, almost.

"Very good, Malik. You may leave now."

Malik picked himself up off the floor and slowly walked out, as Cyrus turned back to his captive. "So, it seems that you don't have to tell me anything after all. They're already on their way here now, which gives me the opportunity to take them out."

Dylan lowered his head, afraid for his friends' safety. _What on Earth are they doing chasing Team Galactic? They're only asking for a death wish! They couldn't possibly take them down! Especially now, when they don't have any of their Pokemon..._

Cyrus smirked. "It seems that I have no use for you any more, Dylan. Perhaps I should send you to play with Garchomp again? He enjoys your company so..."

valefor035: And that last part was not intended as an innuendo, folks. Anyway, if you have any ideas or anything to say to me, visit ., where you can discuss my fanfic and other stuff. Also, you can see a link to DYLB3RT1993's fanfic, _Dylbert and The Forbidden Spring, _which involves the main characters from this fanfic because I said he could. And he paid me in advance. Nah, just joking! Anyway, just visit if you have the time. Also, no flames. They're incredibly intimidating and hurtful. And they burn you real good! Ha ha...

Aaron: Get off the stage!


	12. No Promises

valefor035: I now have an account on , but I don't have any stories up, so don't get too excited. Yet... Anyway, Aaron has just beaten Gardenia, and now our heroes are hot on the tail of Team Galactic, who are holding Dylan captive! Let's see what happens next!

_______________________________________________________________Chapter 12

If there was one thing Aaron knew, it was that the architects Team Galactic hired to construct their Eterna Headquarters sure loved putting unfashionable spikes on the outside walls of their buildings. The blue, several storey high building was lined with them, and only Arceus knows why.

"Anybody got a plan?" Luke asked.

"I was just thinking to run in there, beat everyone up who gets in our way, and take Cyrus down. And possibly rescue Dylan," Dylbert replied.

"Sounds good to me!"

Everyone began to run towards the door, which automatically opened as they charged in. Yet the room was surprisingly deserted, bereft of any unintelligent Galactic henchmen and their desire to be led by a man who believes that they aren't fit for his world anyway. Not worrying too much, they continued to the waiting elevator. They stepped in, and Luke attempted to reach for the button that said 8F, but even being the tallest in the party, he was no match for the height of the elevator's buttons.

"Aaron, get over here," He said.

"Why me?" Aaron protested. "Why can't I climb up on your shoulders for once? I've always got someone standing on me!"

"You should have thought of that before you began to share such a close bond with such a short Pokemon."

"But I..." Aaron stopped, not wanting to disrespect his own Pokemon. "Fine. Let's just hope your thighs haven't absorbed all that Poke Chow yet."

"I can't promise you."

Dylbert seemed a little distressed. "I can't shake the feeling that we're being led into a trap," He said, but no one answered.

Aaron stepped under the elevator buttons, and Luke climbed aboard and steadied himself, but he was still only a little short. He leaped, only just managing to whack the button, before landing back on Aaron, forcing him down onto the polished floor.

"At least... this time, my face... isn't buried in dirt... It's smothered... by your tail, Luke." Aaron made out, having trouble breathing with Luke's weight on top of him.

The doors slowly closed, and the elevator began to travel upwards, giving everyone a slightly weightless feeling. Luke got off Aaron, dusting himself off, and Aaron sighed. "Next time, lay off the Poke Chow."

"Now that's a promise I can't keep!" Luke laughed, holding his stomach as it grumbled. "Looks like my stomach agrees!"

The others laughed, but Aaron was still winded, so he didn't even try. He picked himself up slowly as the elevator came to a halt, and as he regained his breath, the doors opened slowly.

"The airship!" Nick cried, pointing needlessly in the direction they were looking anyway.

The Galactic airship hovered outside the room, and three people were boarding it. They must have been members of Team Galactic due to their distinguishable silver uniforms, but the style was slightly different to that of a normal grunt. They disappeared inside the airship.

"They're not getting away this time!" Aaron shouted, running towards it.

"Wait, Aaron!" Dylbert cried. "We can't just rush in there without thinking about it!"

Aaron looked at Dylbert, then turned back to the airship, which seemed ready to take off as wind was being carelessly tossed around at higher speeds than before. Paper and office supplies were being thrown about as well. "This thing's about to take off! If we don't board now, we won't be able to catch up to them again!"

Dylbert was still unsure what to do. The airship was beginning to lift into the air at a very slow speed.

"Come on! There's no time!"

Luke and Nick were already rushing towards him, but Dylbert soon followed albeit unwillingly. "You'd better hope nothing happens!"

"I promise nothing will happen to us!"

Aaron led them towards the airship, struggling to make it through the wind that was rushing around them, and as the airship was about to take off, they leaped on board before a large door closed behind them.

It was pitch black, and no-one could see.

"Where are we?"

"I can't see a thing!"

"Somebody pinched my butt!"

Suddenly, the lights flickered on, and they realised they were in some sort of storage compartment, as crates were piled around everywhere.

"This makes me feel like Tristan on Yu-Gi-Oh! when he stowed away on the ship to Duellist Kingdom," Dylbert said.

"If it's any consolation, the sun will be going down in an hour or so," Nick replied.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Guys! Be quiet!" Aaron suddenly snapped. "We need to stay low! And figure a way out of here. There don't seem to be any doors..." He looked around the room, but found no sign of a door or opening so as to escape.

"So how do we get out of here, then?" Nick said uneasily.

Cyrus stood on the deck of the ship, staring into the orange, cloudy sky that surrounded them. His face looked blank as he shut his eyes, his thoughts wandering off as he began to lose interest in the sky.

"Cyrus, sir...!"

Opening his eyes, Cyrus turned his head to the blue-haired commander that sat looking into a computer screen. "Ah, Saturn... What is it?"

"We got some stowaways in the storage compartment." Saturn had an earpiece in his, well, ear, in which he heard what the stowaways were discussing.

" _This makes me feel like Tristan on Yu-Gi-Oh! when he stowed away on the ship to Duellist Kingdom."_

"_If it's any consolation, the sun will be going down in an hour or so."_

"Stowaways? Did you hear that, Dylan?" Cyrus turned to the Mudkip in the cage next to him. "It seems your little friends have fallen into our trap!"

Dylan scowled at his captor. "Leave them alone! They're only coming for me!"

"They're not coming for you. They seem intent on destroying Team Galactic. And even if they were coming for you, I wouldn't let them. You already know too much..."

Dylan continued to scowl, unable to rebel against Cyrus.

"Face it. You were better off without them."

"Shut up, Cyrus! Just shut up!" Dylan roared at Cyrus, but he didn't even flinch. "You don't know my friends! They wouldn't ever leave their friends in the hands of a madman like you!"

Cyrus smiled, and turned back to Saturn. "Have Jupiter go down there and take care of them."

"Yes, sir." Saturn turned back to the surveillance monitor where the stowaways were being watched. He noticed the Pikachu say something.

"_I hope Dylan is still okay..."_

"Don't worry, Azz," Luke attempted to comfort Aaron. "I'm sure he's fine."

"How do you know Cyrus hasn't used him in more experiments? They could have turned him into an ultra-strong Mudkip-human hybrid!"

"I doubt that. That'd make even less sense than this fanfic."

Aaron sighed at another attempt to break the fourth wall. "You're right. He'll be fine. If we get out of here first."

Suddenly, everyone heard a loud, motorised sound coming from the northern end of the daftly coloured room. A section of the wall was sliding up to reveal a woman with a rather normal looking, red coloured hair style (at least, compared to other grunts) and a Skuntank standing next to her. The Skuntank snarled at them, and they would have snarled back if it weren't for the horrible stench that was filling the room.

"Oh, God! Who cut the rotten, mouldy, left-in-the-fridge-for-a-couple-years cheese?" Nick commented, covering his snout.

"Humph. Luckily for you..." The woman began to say as the door behind Nick opened again. "...You won't have to smell that for much longer!"

"I told you this was a trap!" Dylbert complained angrily.

Everyone felt themselves being pulled back by the sudden pull of the wind rushing out. They struggled to oppose the forces that were pulling them out, only barely keeping their footing on the ground.

"I don't think we can go on much lo-" SMACK! Aaron began to say, before he was struck by a large crate, sending him and the crate flying out into the sky. The others followed suit, also being forced out by crates flying out the door. They all began to plummet to their deaths many metres above the ground.

Jupiter smiled. She began to talk into what seemed to be a walkie talkie. "Mission complete." She and her Skuntank disappeared into the interior of the airship.

Aaron's mission, however, was not, and by the looks of things it never was to be. He, along with the others, screamed as they fell to their deaths that awaited them at the ground.

"Guys! I'm sorry for getting you into this! I should have done this by myself!" Aaron cried.

"Damn right you should be sorry!" Dylbert screeched back.

"We weren't gonna let you go alone, Azz!" Nick replied, shouting as loud as he could.

"How would you take on Team Galactic by yourself?" Luke screamed. "We would have been behind you all the way, no matter how treacherous the journey became!'

Aaron knew he was going to die happy, knowing that his friends would have backed him up all the way. "I'm just sorry it has to end like this!"

Aaron shut his eyes, too afraid to see the ground rushing up towards him at blinding speed. Minutes seemed to past when they were only seconds, as he waited to splat against the pavement.

THUD!

Aaron opened his eyes, only to find that they were hovering in the sky, atop a solid, feathery object. "Wait a minute, bodies don't go THUD when they splat against the pavement..."

"No, they go THUD when they land on Lugia's back," Nick replied.

"Lugia?"

Nick was right. They were situated on the back of a white bird with wings that resembled hands more than anything, and a face that had a mask-like shape, as if the mask were split in two around the eyes. A long tail lagged behind them, swaying in the soft breeze of Eterna City.

"It really is Lugia! Lugia saved us!"

Lugia craned his head towards Aaron and smiled. "Please, it was no trouble at all. No need to thank me."

Lugia landed behind Gardenia's Gym, lowering his back so that everyone could get off easily. Aaron rushed around to greet Lugia. "Wow, the real Lugia! I can't believe Lugia saved us! Of all the Pokemon..."

"Oh, no, please! You give me too much credit! Really, it was nothing."

Luke, Nick and a slightly peeved Dylbert rushed around to meet Lugia too. "So, how did you know that we were falling from the airship like that?" Luke asked.

"Well, I am fully informed of your mission."

"You know what we're doing?" Nick asked, more or less repeating what he said.

"Kyogre told me through telepathy, just as she told you what to do, Aaron. She told me that you were here, and so I stood watch, making sure nothing bad happened. Then you fell from the sky, and I caught you and returned you to safety."

Aaron sighed of relief. He was close to meeting his doom at the pavement, and out of nowhere Lugia appeared and saved them He couldn't thank him enough. "But... There's still a few things I don't understand. Like, for example, how you're still even here when Team Galactic snatched up all the naturally-born Pokemon?"

Lugia smirked. "You think a Poke Ball could contain me?"

"But..."

"Team Galactic sent their ships all around the world, but only to the places what they thought were inhabited by Pokemon. As such, they did not check the mountainous areas, and the deepest parts of the sea. My habitat is disclosed, and not so easily discovered."

"I guess that makes sense, Lugia." Aaron rubbed the back of his neck – his dandruff was spreading – but mainly out of embarrassment. Why ask such a stupid question?

"But why did Kyogre choose Aaron to chase after them?" Dylbert asked curiously.

Lugia paused for a moment, causing a long silence. "Aaron, you contain within your body a special power that is yet to be awakened."

"A... Special power?" Aaron repeated.

"Correct. Every now and then, a human is born with a special power that activates when someone they are close to is in danger. A friend, or family member, perhaps. The power dramatically increases their power and gives them an adrenaline rush, giving them the courage and strength to do anything. Their foes would cower before them due to their power."

"And that's gonna save the world... how?" Aaron asked.

"The inhabitant of this is also given the ability to erase people from existence, although this is fuelled by the other person's hatred for the world. Since Cyrus hates our world so, Aaron's job is to erase Cyrus from the picture, literally."

It was all too much for the poor teenager to take in. _Me? I have the power to...erase people from existence? But how is that possible? This is absurd, even for a fanfic!_

"One more question, then," Aaron said, still accepting the shocking news. "What about Kyogre? She said she had only enough strength left in her when she last contacted me through my dreams."

"That is because she has been captured...by Pokemon Hunters."

Everyone jumped all of a sudden. "Captured?" Luke cried.

"Pokemon Hunter J personally took care of her, turning her to stone with her advanced technologies. Her life force is rapidly draining, and thus we have made attempts to rescue her. But so far, we have not prevailed."

"Poor Kyogre..." Nick wept for her silently, so that no-one would notice.

"But you will gain nothing out of mourning for her! We must push forward! You must all take care of Aaron so that he may fulfil his destiny!"

Luke smiled at Lugia. "You're right!" He clenched his fist and thrust it into the air. "We have to keep going! We have to destroy Team Galactic once and for all!"

Lugia smiled happily, before beginning to flap his wings. "I'm glad that you have picked such good friends, Aaron. You must never take them for granted."

"I won't, Lugia!" Aaron replied enthusiastically.

"You can count on us!" Luke cried.

"Then I shall entrust you with the rest." Lugia took off into the sunset at awesome speed. "Take care!"

Everyone waved back to the legendary Pokemon. "Thanks again!" Nick shouted as Lugia disappeared out of sight.

"So where do we go next?" Dylbert inquired.

"Well, Team Galactic flew off again," Aaron said, "so I guess we just continue on to the next town. Oreburgh City, here we come!"

Aaron: Well why didn't Kyogre just tell me that in the first place? That would have been so much easier! The fanfic would have ended by now, and I'd be home playing _Super Smash Bros. Brawl!_

valefor035: Oh, wow. A 12-chapter-long fanfic. Oh, that's just the best thing ever.


	13. My Precious

valefor035: Thanks to SamPD2 for the rather encouraging PMs he's been leaving me of late. Let me assure you all, this story will not die out any time soon, trust me. I won't be getting writer's block any time soon, unlike DYLB3RT1993...

(Also, I'm trying to make it so that I can have my own music playing on _Super Smash Bros. Brawl _at the moment, but I'm sorta stumped as to how. If anybody can give me a half-decent description as to how, including recommendation for programs to use, then that would be much appreciated. I have Homebrew installed on my Wii, and Gecko OS 1.9.2, and that's about it. I must have the Pokemon Battle Frontier Japanese Version playing on the Halberd stage! wOOt)

Anyway, here's Chapter 13. Enjoy!

___________________________________________________________________Chapter 13

"How come Aaron gets all the cool stuff in his life?" Nick complained as the group of teenage Pokemon arrived in their room at the Pokemon Center. "He gets top grades at school, he gets a Pikachu, and now he's got some weird power inside of him that's supposed to be able to erase people from existence! I mean, that is really unfair!"

"You're not whinging at Luke," Aaron replied as he jumped onto his bed. "He gets all the girls."

Luke blushed a little as he jumped onto his bed as well. But Nick just sniggered. "I don't want girls at the moment. I'm focused on more important things."

Aaron couldn't help but to let out a little chuckle at Nick's statement. "You sure that's the reason why you aren't worrying about girls, Nick?" Everyone laughed at Nick, who hid his face under his pillow.

"So, Nick, what's Oreburgh City like?" Dylbert asked. "You've been travelling around Sinnoh, haven't you?"

Nick lifted his head from the pillow. "Oh, Oreburgh City? Well, um..." Nick had indeed been travelling around Sinnoh. His parents, despite being stuck in casual jobs, were moderately wealthy, and thus when they go on holiday, they would usually board a cruise ship and travel around the region for several weeks. He'd been as far as Snowpoint City once, and had even been aboard the S.S. Anne a few years ago for a holiday to Vermilion City. Other times, they hiked around the region, visiting all sorts of places. "Yeah, it's a bit of a dull town, almost as dull as Celestic Town. The people there are all about coal. There's a coal mine, a coal museum, the whole place smells like coal... I could go on, but I want to go to sleep before you all question my sexuality again."

"They're all about coal just as you're all about me-"

"Oh, BE QUIET!!!" Nick ducked his head under the pillow again as everyone else laughed at him.

"Nick's right, though. We should all get some sleep," Luke supported Nick's motion. "I'm as tired as... As tired as..." He yawned rather loudly. "I'm so tired, I can't think of a simile to finish that sentence. I think that's a good enough reason."

And so everyone tucked themselves in and wished each other a good night's rest.

At the very brink of midnight, Luke awoke, feeling the need to quench his sudden thirst. He hopped out of his bed, only to see that Aaron wasn't in his bed either. His headband was placed on the bedside table, neatly folded up.

"I wonder where Aaron got to?" Luke thought. "It's not like him to get up during the night..."

He headed downstairs towards the kitchen, where he managed to get himself a glass of water despite his current form, not really designed for the handling of such objects. When he started for the stairs again, however, he noticed a Pikachu sitting outside, visible through the window, so he decided to investigate. As he went outside, he discovered the air was quite cold, and he began to shiver. He found Aaron sitting against a tree – he was sure it was Aaron although the headband was off.

"Oh, Luke... What a surprise." Aaron said softly. "What are you doing outside so late? It's cold out here."

"I could ask you the same thing," Luke replied gently.

Aaron sighed. "I... It's just..." His voice was much lower than usual, as if he was grieving over something. "...It's nothing. Don't worry."

After a long period of silence, Luke sat down beside him, leaning back against the tree. "It's okay, Aaron. You can tell me anything. I am your friend, after all."

Aaron sighed again, staring at himself as his fur swayed in the light breeze. "I'm... Just a little distressed, that's all. What Lugia said today... It's still sinking in. I'm having trouble accepting it."

Luke perked up a little.

"I mean, out of all the people that could have been born with this so-called 'power,' I had to be chosen. But why me? I don't even get a choice in it."

"Well, I guess I can't really help you with that," Luke said quickly, so as to digress to another subject, "But you know we're going to back you up all the way, right?"

Aaron smiled. "Lugia was right. I am lucky to have such good friends."

Luke smiled back at the troubled Pokemon. "No need to worry, Azz."

Aaron stood up as the wind was picking up, his fur and ears shaking vigorously with it. Luke stood up after a few seconds. "Besides, I have to do this. My Pokemon need me. They mean so much to me, and I can't just let Team Galactic get away with them!"

"And not just for our Pokemon, but for everyone else's too!"

Aaron nodded in total agreement. "But...What about Dylbert? He seemed a bit upset about this whole thing today. When we boarded the airship, he was scared that it was a trap, and it was, so he can't be too happy about it."

"Who, Dylbert?" Luke chuckled a little. "He'll be fine. He's just such a worry-wart, that's all. He should be fine."

"Hmm..." Aaron stared up into the starry night sky blankly. A long silence followed for several minutes, before Luke broke it.

"Come on, Azz. It's getting cold out here. We should go inside where it's warm."

"Okay. It is getting pretty cold, even for me..."

Aaron and Luke returned to the Pokemon Center and retired to their room. Aaron was happier knowing that Luke was there to back him up on the journey, but there were still other matters that were upsetting him. _No point worrying about it now, _he thought. _I should just get some sleep._

After a light breakfast, the party set out for Oreburgh City early on in the morning. As ever, the sun shone brightly in the brilliant, cloudless sky, the heat crashing down on them heavily making their movement sluggish.

"Well, this is a bit of a change from last night," Luke said, slumping along the path. They found themselves situated in yet another densely populated forest area which lay under Cycling Road which, given current circumstances, probably wasn't being used much. Especially in this heat.

"I wonder if Team Galactic are having a day off due to the hot weather?" Dylbert suggested. "In that case, we can have a day off! We can go relax in the Pokemon Center all day! Right, Luke?"

Aaron tried to cheer everyone up by making fun of his own power. "Don't make me erase you from existance, Dylbert!" He said.

"Not funny."

"You're just a little unhappy because we fell into a trap which you warned us about," Aaron replied. "But, we survived, didn't we?"

"Yeah, but..."

"And there you go. No harm done, eh? So we can all be happy and have a laugh about it. You know how we got pushed out of that airship and we almost got splattered against the ground? That was so funny, huh? Ha ha ha ha ha!" Aaron continued to laugh embarrassingly, like, Yuna-Makes-Tidus-Fake-Laugh-To-Cheer-Himself-Up-When-He-Finds-Out-Sin-Is-His-Dad embarrassing. Yeah, it was that bad.

Thankfully, his ultra corny laugh grinded to a halt when they heard a voice from inside the group of trees. "Is that him? No, it can't be!"

"Who...is that?" Luke thought curiously.

They heard a gasp, before a Sceptile launched out of the bushes and grabbed Luke, holding him in its arms. "I've found you, my son!" The Sceptile spoke in a woman's voice.

"Your son?" Aaron suddenly exclaimed.

The Sceptile was squeezing Luke tightly, and by the looks of things, wasn't prepared to let go anytime soon, as she rocked from to side to side with her apparent 'son.' "Oh, I've finally found you! Oh, rejoice! Rejoice!"

Luke struggled to get words out of his mouth, being hugged to death by this stranger. "But...I'm not...your son!"

"Of course you are! You're a Treecko! It only makes sense!"

"I'm not the...only Treecko...in the world, y'know!"

Aaron sighed. "This can't possibly be your son, Miss..."

The Sceptile turned away. "I'm not talking to you! You kidnapped my son!"

The others jumped. "Kidnapped?" Nick shouted. "No way did we kidnap our own freaking friend!"

The Sceptile gasped, finally letting go of poor Luke as she did so. He took huge, heavy breaths, attempting to regain his breath. "Oh, such insolent children we have running around today! Why, I should Leaf Blade you all for your impudence!"

"Wait, so if you found your son..." Dylbert assumed. "...Then he must have been missing in the first place?"

"Why, yes..." The Sceptile embraced Luke again, squeezing him tighter than before. "My little schnookums here went missing about two weeks ago, long before we came Pokemon. I had no idea where he went, and I have been crying over his disappearance ever since. But now my little Lukey is back, and I can snuggle him with hugs and kisses all day long!" The Sceptile began doing so, pecking Luke on the cheek and squeezing him even harder. He couldn't say him as he was having little success even inhaling.

"Lukey?" Aaron repeated. "Oh, now I get it."

"Well, please fill me in," Nick started, "Cause I don't have the slightest idea what's going on here."

"The Sceptile's son must also be named Luke, or something similar. She must have assumed Luke was her son because Dylbert referred to him as Luke while we were walking. That seems to be the only logical explanation." He turned back to the Sceptile, smothering Luke like never before. "Tell ya what, we'll go find your real son and prove that Treecko is not your son. Okay?"

The Sceptile laughed. "Ha! Good luck finding my son out here when he's in my arms!"

Aaron, Dylbert and Nick ran off into the forest. "Good luck finding him when he's been smothered to death," Nick muttered under his breath."

By now, the trio were deep within the forested area between Eterna and Oreburgh, and they were making no headway into the search. Dylbert sighed unpromisingly. "This is hopeless. We'll never see Luke again, at least if we can't pry his corpse from her cold, dead hands."

"We can't leave Luke behind!" Aaron replied suddenly, remembering the inspiring conversation he and Luke shared the night before. "Not after what he said last night. He said he's gonna back me up all the way, and I have to do the same when he's in trouble. We have to be there for him." By now, an intensely hot breeze was flowing through the forest, sapping the energy out of them. "But, I think we need to rest for a little while."

"But we can't rest out here," Nick protested. "We need to find shelter."

"Well, how about in that cave over there?" Aaron suggested, pointing in the general direction of a big opening in the side of a cliff.

"That's no ordinary cave, that's Wayward Cave!" Nick explained enthusiastically. "We went hiking in there once. It's a fairly unknown cave home to rare Pokemon such as Gible. Maybe this kid's in there?"

"Any excuse to get out of this heat," Aaron replied enthusiastically as they all rushed into Wayward Cave. A they ran inside, however, it became pitch black very quickly, and none of them could see very well.

"As much as I hate exploring caves," Dylbert said, "I got some mad skills that can help us." Suddenly the cave became brighter as the flame on Dylan's backside became bigger.

"I never knew your butt would be able to help us in a situation like this," Nick laughed.

"Just be thankful that I don't kick yours."

As they continued further into the cave, the group heard drops of water plopping against the cold ground, slowly becoming louder as they went. It was much too quiet for Dylbert's liking, and he was shivering a little. However, he stopped shivering and started cowering when he heard a voice, and the voice sounded as if the person emitting it was in distress.

"That voice is coming from further in the cave!" Aaron pointed out needlessly. "It could be the kid we're looking for! Dylbert, lead the way!"

With Dylbert out in front illuminating the path and Aaron and Nick not far behind, they rushed along the path provided until they came to a dead end, where they saw a group of two Gible and a Gabite, closing in on a Treecko huddled up in the corner. The Treecko was shivering rapidly, crying all the while.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Aaron shouted at the ruffian Dragon Pokemon.

The Gabite turned around, staring directly at Aaron. "In case you haven't wondered, we _are _picking on someone our own size." The Gabite licked his lips. "Mmm... Although you look like the juiciest little Pikachu yourself! Perfect for our main course!"

Aaron jumped. "M... Main course?"

The Gible joined their supposed leader in imagining what steamed Pikachu would taste like, and so they began advancing on him.

"Look, as much as I'd like to, err, join you for dinner, we just came for the Treecko. We'll be taking him and leaving now, if that's alright with you."

The Treecko lifted its head, eyeing the Pikachu attempting to rescue him. "You're...here for me?"

"You're not touching that Treecko! He's ours!" One of the Gible cried.

Nick and Dylbert, who so far have just stood back and watched, joined Aaron at his side. "Well, you're just going to have to get through us, then!"

Gabite's mouth was now watering, filled with dripping saliva. "Oh, nobody told me we were having a Pokemon smorgasbord! Oh, baby!"

Dylbert was the first to act, jumping towards one of the Gible and rapidly scratching at its face. The Gible stumbled back, before Dylbert launched searing hot flames from his mouth, scorching the opponent and making it yelp loudly. It retreated, rushing out of the cave.

Aaron rushed for the second Gible, eyeing Nick as he did so. "Nick!" He cried as he picked up speed. "You gotta take out that Gabite with your Ice Beam! Dragons are weak to ice-type moves!"

Nick nodded, but as he did so Gabite charged straight for him. Luckily, Nick jumped into the air, landing behind him, and launched an Ice Beam at him. He dodged quickly, however, leaping into the air and coming down at him hard with his tail, smacking Nick into the ground.

Aaron, meanwhile, Tackled the Gible to the ground, before resorting to a charged up Skull Bash, which, when it made impact with his dazed opponent, sent it flying into the rocky wall. It was down and out.

Only Gabite was left, however it was causing Nick some problems due to its great speed. Nick slowly got up, still recovering from the last Dragon Rush attack, and began to prepare another Ice Beam, but the Treecko suddenly jumped up from out of nowhere, smacking Gabite in the face with his tail! Gabite fell to the ground, allowing Nick to fire Ice Beam at him, encasing it in ice.

"Thanks for rescuing me!" The Treecko cried. "I thought I was a goner back there! Any longer and they would have had me in a cauldron and sprinkling me with spices!"

"That's okay," Aaron replied, "But this isn't the place to chat. Let's get out of here."

The group had made their way out of Wayward Cave, and thankfully the sun had disappeared behind a group of clouds, so it wasn't as hot anymore.

"Really, guys, I owe you one," The Treecko repeated himself.

"What did you say your name was?" Dylbert asked.

"I didn't, and it's Lucas."

Aaron slapped his forehead. "Now I see! Luke and Lucas! No wonder she got them mixed up!"

Lucas the Treecko gave Aaron an odd look. "Mixed up? What are you talking about?"

"Your mother, who is a Sceptile, she took our friend thinking he was you. So we set out to find you, and here we are."

"My mom will do that. She's very quick to jump to conclusions, and very stubborn."

As they walked, they talked about Aaron's journey to take down Team Galactic, and Lucas was fascinated by every word Aaron, Nick and Dylbert said. They continued to tell him about their adventure until they reached the spot where Luke had been stolen, and Lucas called out to his mother. "Mom? I'm here! Where are you?"

The Sceptile appeared in the trees again, then jumped out of them, still holding Luke in her arms. "Lukey? Is that you?" She released Luke from her tight grasp, letting him drop to the ground, before running over to Lucas and swiping him up in her arms. "It really is you! Oh, my poor baby! I missed you so much!" She proceeded to smother poor Lucas in kisses, swaying him around in her arms as she did so.

Luke stood up, still catching his breath. "Now you know how I feel."

"I really must apologise to you, Luke," The Sceptile said as she held a bag filled with clinky objects. "You won't tell anyone of this? I would simply die of embarassment if anybody found out!"

Luke rubbed his neck, which was incredibly stiff from his experience in her arms. "Oh, no, it's fine. No biggie."

The Sceptile held out the bag. "Please, take this. It's the least I can give you for rescuing my son from those horrid ruffians."

Luke took the bag and opened it to discover a sackful of money inside! "There must be, like, 1000 Poke in here!"

"You sure that's not overdoing it, mom?" Lucas said, by his mother's side and not her arms for once.

"They rescued you, Lucas. I must reward them for such an incredible feat!"

The group headed off then, waving goodbye as they did so. Now, with their new friend behind them, they headed off for Oreburgh City.

valefor035: Hope ya all had a merry Christmas! I know I did, cos I finally got an Xbox 360 and an iPod Touch. Aaron here didn't get squat.

Aaron: Yep, sure. Go save the world and you're put on Santa's naughty list. Great.


	14. Pre-emptive Strike!

valefor035: As I have said in the reviews section, my typing isn't as good as my spelling and therefore I'm gonna fix it soon. Although the recent chapters have been done in so there is a spellchecker in that, so I'm good now. Dang, WordPad sucks.

Also, someone needs to get on nickioli's case and tell him to write a fanfic already, and stop making stupid clay animations and comics where big headed stick figures throw up on cakes.

Anyway, on to Chapter 14!

With the sun still releasing its rays upon the world and causing every living thing that hadn't melted into a puddle of mush to eventually do so, Aaron, Luke, Dylbert and Nick had finally arrived in the industrially over-the-top Oreburgh City. As soon as they walked into the borders of the city, they could clearly see a large factory off into the north, and the cave of which coal was excavated from was also visible in the south. Already, Nick was bored. "Can we just find Roark and get out of here?" Nick moaned restlessly. "I don't think I can stand this town for too long."

"Sounds good," Aaron replied, immediately heading off for the Gym. "I am seriously sick of the sun. Why, if it were a Pokemon, I would've Volt Tackled it all the way to Narnia and back!"

"Uh... Narnia?"

"A fictional world found by travelling through the old wardrobe in the spare room of some old... Look, I just wanna get this Gym over and done with, as well, and talking about the non-existant domain of a talking lion isn't helping things."

The group began trudging through the city, noting the odd, almost triangular shape of the housing within it. It was as if they were walking through a world different to their own. Well, at least in terms of architecture.

Finally they arrived at the Oreburgh Gym. Nick jumped for joy at the opportunity to get out of the heat, but stopped when he saw a sign on the door. He read it out aloud to the others: "Gone to the coal mines. Be back later. Roark, smiley face."

"Oh, surprised face!" Aaron cried in emoticon language. "I mean, oh, snap! Of all the times he had to be in the coal mine! I mean, we just went in a freaking cave! Do we have to slug our way through another?" He groaned loudly, realising he would have to be out in the heat even longer. "I can stand this heat as a human, but with all this fur..."

Dylbert sighed. "Well, in that case, I'm not going."

"And why not?" Nick replied, feeling underprivileged. "You're not any more special than we are! Well, except me, I am special."

"Well, I'm sorry, but this heat is too much heat for me, which is totally ironic because I'm a Fire-type and I should be resistant to all manner of heat."

"Well, you've got no excuse. You have writers' block, and you don't seem to be doing anything in DYLB3RT1993's 'Dylbert and The Forbidden Spring' story, so you have to do something in this one."

Aaron, quite possibly sick of the attempts they had made to break the fourth wall, grabbed Dylbert by the ear and dragged him along the ground.

"Hey! Hands off the merchandise!" Dylbert managed to say between all the OWs and EEKs he was emitting.

* * *

Several minutes of slugging through the city, shifting away with the weight of the sun slumping down on their shoulders, and they found themselves standing outside the coal mine, a cave hollowed out in the side of a large cliff, with machines and conveyor belts excavating coal from the inside and rolling it out. The coal was led into a large building, but unaware of how coal was processed for energy in the first place, they wouldn't have known what would have happened inside. When they had gawked mindlessly at the needlessly complicated contraptions, they headed into the mine. Lights were aligned along the wall, illuminating the cave which housed more machinery.

"Honestly, the government wonders why we've got all these climate change issues," Luke commented as they walked through the mine. "Although I guess it's better than Cyrus destroying the whole world and its inhabitants."

"I'll drink to that," Dylbert replied.

As they walked deeper into the mine, they saw a huge lump of coal sitting right in the middle of the room, with machines probing it of its energy and Pokemon working hard at chipping it away, or whatever they were doing, with hand tools. When they had made their way around the perimeter of the lump of coal, which took them a few minutes, they saw a Cranidos closely examining the rock wall behind it. It had seemed they had reached the deepest part of the cave.

"Maybe that's Roark?" Luke assumed. "His strongest Pokemon was a Cranidos, after all."

Aaron decided to ask, but before he got a chance he was stopped by a loud shrieking that pierced their ears, so they quickly covered them. "What the hell is that?" Luke screamed.

"What?" Dylbert replied.

"I SAID, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

"WHAT?!?"

"OH, BE QUIET!!!"

"YOU'LL HAVE TO SPEAK UP! I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THIS SCREECHING!"

"WHAT?!?"

The screeching stopped, leaving their ears ringing infuriatingly. After the ringing ceased in Dylbert's ears, he saw three Zubat flocking over them, and because of the last experience of fighting a bat, he was about ready to wet his pants, had there been pants designed to resist the flame on his butt.

"Oh, not more freaking Zubat!" Luke cried, pointing in their general direction.

"What are you talking about?" Aaron replied, confused. "We haven't seen any Zubat on this whole adventure!"

"Ever played a Pokemon game? Do you know how many times they pop up in caves, use Supersonic, and then prevent your slow as rock Pokemon from escaping?"

Aaron groaned. "Oh, no, more Zubat!"

The Zubat shrieked again, and everyone covered their ears, except for Nick, who suddenly became confused as he spun about in a daze.

"Nick! Are you okay?" Dylbert cried.

"Y-yeah, I'm f-f-fine, I j-just need to s-spin around for a b-bit..." And with that Nick collapsed onto the ground.

Aaron, not wanting to waste any time, unleashed a volley of electricity towards the Zubat, and while two of them were smart enough to dodge, one was a little slow, and was struck down. Luke made a jump for the second Zubat as it dodged Aaron's ThunderShock, smacking it with his tail and sending it plummeting to the ground. Dylbert made for the last one, unleashing embers in a machine gun-like fashion, striking the remaining Zubat down quickly.

The Cranidos turned around, as if nothing happened, and saw the Zubat knocked out, and three Pokemon standing before them. He looked just as confused as Nick did.

Nick sat up, finally snapped out of his confusion. "Oof... What'd I miss?"

The five Pokemon suddenly heard a sinister laughing coming from a man and a woman, who they could not see even though they sounded like they were in the room. "Oh, my, what a bunch of twerps we have here!" The woman laughed.

"Almost as annoying as that Ash Ketchum twerp!" The man agreed.

Then there was silence, as if the two were waiting for something. "Uh, Meowth?" The woman said.

"Oh, Jessie, Meowth was taken by those Team Galactic scum!" The man replied remorsefully.

"Maybe we should do our motto?"

"Nah, not worth it. We're outta here!"

Once again, there was silence. Everyone searched the room, but found no other life forms apart from themselves. "Y'know, those two sounded undoubtedly familiar," Aaron thought out aloud.

The Cranidos walked up to them, clapping its claws together. "Bravo! Very nice job! You dispatched those Zubat like they were nothing!"

Luke chuckled. "Ha, I wonder why?"

The Cranidos chuckled along with him. "My name is Roark, and I am the leader of the Oreburgh Gym."

Aaron suddenly perked up. "Oh, Roark! We were looking for you everywhere! I was hoping we could have a gym battle!"

"A gym battle? Well, I would be delighted, erm..."

"Oh, my name's Aaron."

"Well, Aaron, I'd be happy to have a gym battle with you! If you could meet me at the Gym in about an hour, then we shall do battle. I just have to finish up here."

Roark went back to examining the wall closely, and Dylbert couldn't help but to be a bit curious. "Uh, what exactly are you doing?"

"Why, I am searching for fossils! We have discovered many an ancient Pokemon fossil in these mines, and from them creating Pokemon such as Cranidos, Shieldon, and such others. I come down here every day to find them, in hope of one day discovering a new Pokemon!" Roark turned to Aaron for just a moment. "Meet me at the gym, okay? We shall battle then."

A lowly Galactic thug tossed the struggling Mudkip into the arena carelessly, and the thug stood at the entrance, watching. Dylan slowly got up onto his legs and pushed himself up, and checked his surroundings; it seemed that he was in a bland, circular room, with plain sky-blue walls, and a concrete floor with a Poke Ball symbol in the middle of it. The gate creakily closed behind him.

Dylan quivered in fear as the gate on the other side of the arena opened, and a large, dragon-like figure stomped its way in. The figure revealed itself from the shadows, appearing as a burly looking Garchomp. The two stared at each other at each other, before Garchomp launched a Dragonbreath at Dylan, but he quickly jumped out of the way. _There's no way I can beat this thing! _He thought as he dodged a Dragon Pulse attack formed in the Garchomp's mouth. _I have to escape! But how?_

Garchomp launched itself at the terrified Pokemon, but he hastily dodged. No sooner did Dylan have an idea. He ran back to the gate that he came through, and stood there. The grunt behind him watched suspiciously.

The angered Garchomp charged straight towards Dylan, roaring fiercely, picking up some serious momentum as it did so. Just as it was about to strike Dylan down, he leaped out of the way, and the Garchomp crashed into the gate, sending it toppling onto the grunt that stood outside. And thus, Dylan left the arena while Garchomp and grunt were knocked out.

He was finally on his way to freedom, after nearly three and a half weeks.

A voice suddenly boomed through a speaker as he dashed through a seemingly never ending hallway. "Attention, all personnel! Our test subject has escaped! I repeat, our test subject has escaped! All available personnel are to attempt the capture of the test subject and return him to Cyrus immediately!"

Several grunts appeared before Dylan as he was about to make for the same storage compartment where his friends hid. "Haha! You're ours, kid!" One of them shouted.

Instinct suddenly kicked in, as Dylan realised the danger he was in. He forcefully sprayed a powerful burst of water from his mouth, sending the guards for the wall and knocking them out, and so he continued for the storage compartment.

When he got there, the large door at the back of the room was opening slowly, as he realised the airship he was on was still airborne. Several more grunts appeared behind him, holding minimised Poke Balls in their hands. He had no choice. He dashed for the opening and leapt out into the sky! He soared through the early afternoon air... Only to land in a prickly rose bush seconds later. He crawled out slowly, only to realise the airship had landed.

_Thank Arceus Aaron isn't around, _he thought.

valefor035: Well Chapter 14 is finally up after about two weeks of not updating. I didn't realise that an Xbox 360 would consume half of my life, and playing SSBB consumes the other half, so sorry for the _slightly _late update. Although I'm one to talk, aren't I? DYLB3RT1993, nickioli and Spawn001, all characters in the story, haven't updated for ages, and nickioli hasn't even started a fanfic yet!

Aaron: I know! Let's all sigh a petition to get them off their fat asses and do something. Just so we can laugh at them.

valefor035: For once in my life I agree with you. Now let's never speak of it again.

Also, don't forget to vote in my new poll! Vote for what you want to see in my fanfic in upcoming chapters! Do it or I will DESTROY YOU!!! lulz

P.S. No, I did not rip off Ask Jiggly. So shut up.


	15. Thick Skull

valefor035: And now for Chapter 15. Wow. This is a new benchmark for me. I mean, I once wrote a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon story that was 80 pages long, but this takes the overly obnoxious cake, not to mention it tastes like a wet cookie. Whatever that meant I have absolutely no idea, but the point is I never thought I'd make it this far. And I'm showing no signs of slowing down, either, so be prepared! This is gonna take a while!

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the positive reviews thus far, and for sticking with me until this point. It really makes me wanna continue the story. But, even if you don't like it, review it anyway. I need your opinions to keep going! Special thanks to SamPD2, fanfictionlover4444, DYLB3RT1993, nickioli and Spawn001 (mainly the first two, though, lulz). You guys have been great.

Enough of my ranting. On with the show!

_________________________________________________________________Chapter 15

Later in that afternoon, as it had finally cooled down to the point of still freaking hot, Aaron and friends had arrived at the Oreburgh Gym, and were soon greeted at the front of the building by Roark himself. "Why, hello Aaron!" He exclaimed. "I hope you're ready to lose today!"

Aaron smirked. "I'll ignore your worthless and rather childish taunts and we'll just battle, okay?"

The two competitors were soon situated on either side of a large, rather plain looking arena. Roark snapped his fingers, however, and soon large boulders had appeared from the left and right sides of the arena, forming a mountainous terrain for the two to do battle.

Aaron was perfectly affiliated with the likes of a Cranidos already. _I know all about these Pokemon. They were always known for their high attack power, but in terms of defense and speed they never were really that good. This should be a piece of caramel cake! Mmm... cake... _Aaron started drooling, before vigorously shaking his head. No_! I gotta stay focused! The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie!_

"No doubt he's making Portal references," Dylbert questioned, sitting on the seats behind Aaron. "Every person who knows their video games does it, and I think it's rather pathetic."

"I sure as hell hope the cake isn't a lie. I love cake!" Luke replied, drooling as well.

"Someone get him a towel?"

Roark smiled, stretching his muscles wisely while Aaron and Luke fantasised over cake. "Perhaps we should begin? You clearly look ready, Aaron."

_The cake is a lie! The cake is a lie! _"Okay, let's do this! You're going down, Roark!" _The cake is a lie! Oh God I love caramel cake..._

Roark immediately charged for the disoriented Pikachu, its head glowing brightly as it picked up momentum. Aaron was still wondering about certain factors. "Wait, where's the referee? How do we know who wi-"

SMACK!!! Roark's Zen Headbutt sent Aaron flying into the air, landing on his face as per usual. When he got up, he noticed Roark was using Zen Headbutt again, and when he was only inches away did he get the opportunity to dodge, merely missing by a few centimetres. At this point, Roark kept on charging, ramming straight into one of the boulders on the field.

He suddenly realised something. _Just like Nick's Totodile! If Roark's Zen Headbutt misses, he'll keep going and run into the wall! Then I strike!_

Roark pushed himself up, a little woozy from the sudden impact, but still standing. He rushed at Aaron again, but his head did not light up, instead his claws did, and he took a swipe at Aaron with his Metal Claw attack, leaving a small scar on his cheek.

"Ow! My beautiful face!" Aaron cried, as he began to gather electrical energy in his cheeks. He launched a solid ThunderShock attack at Roark, zapping him, but it seemed to do little damage. He had to do something; he couldn't just keep dodging all day!

Roark was quick to act again, and as Aaron had hoped, his head took on a shiny white colour, and he began charging at him. Aaron leapt into the air to dodge, doing a commando roll as he landed - "Show-off! Luke cried – and making Roark ram into another boulder. It shattered into a million magnificent pieces.

"Now for something a bit different," Aaron said to himself. He leapt into the air as his tail began to glow, and attempted to slam it down onto Roark – at least, if his tail hadn't stopped glowing...

While Aaron was wondering what had happened, Roark had slashed at Aaron with another Metal Claw, this time leaving a small wound on his left arm. "Perhaps I'm taking this a little too far?" Roark assumed as Aaron cried out in pain. "Well, you should know what you're getting yourself into if you're gonna participate in Gym battles, Aaron."

Aaron grabbed his wound, wondering how he was going to continue. "Oh, believe me, we're only just getting started!"

Roark hid a smirk behind his overly large head, as he once again charged at Aaron, his head glowing intensely.

"Talk about a thick skull!" Aaron leapt into the air again, only barely dodging Roark's 'thick skull,' and as he rammed into a third boulder, once again shattering it, Aaron attempted another Iron Tail. He focused entirely on the attack as his tail lit up again, and slammed it down onto Roark as hard as he could! He had succeeded!

"I know where he's getting at!" Luke suddenly shouted. "Steel-type attacks are super-effective on Rock-types! And letting him charge and hit an obstacle before unleashing an attack? I guess he has you to thank for that strategy, Nick."

Nick felt violated at Luke's comment. "Shut up! Just cause I ain't as good as him!"

His wound still throbbing in pain, Aaron managed to dodge Roark as he swiped at him with his foot while he was still down. As he stood up again, Roark charged at Aaron for a fifth time, but Aaron simply dodged it, and immediately resorted to another Iron Tail attack. As it was about to strike Roark down for good, however, Roark disappeared!

"What's going on?" Aaron cried obliviously, only as Roark appeared again to his left. And his right. And in front of him. And behind him. And all around him. "I should have known. He used Double Team!"

In an instant, Roark's holographic copies had reformed back into a solid Cranidos behind Aaron, and charged at him with such speed that Aaron was not sure if he could dodge it.

He closed his eyes, and let his Pokemon instincts take over.

A second later, he opened them as he heard a crash. Roark had collided with another boulder, and he had dodged! Now was the time for another Iron Tail! Whilst in mid air, Aaron's tail lit up for a third time, and he slammed it straight down onto Roark, knocking him senseless. Roark attempted to get up, but it was no use.

Aaron had won! He had beaten the second Gym Leader, with only an injury or two.

Only an hour later was Aaron lying in a bed prepared for him in the Pokemon Center, bandages tightly concealing his arm and cheek wounds. Other than that, he was relatively fine.

Roark walked in, followed by Luke, Dylbert and Nick, and he didn't show any noticeable signs of injury. "Congratulations, Aaron!" Roark exclaimed, chirpier than ever. "You bested me in combat, and as such I award you with the Coal Badge!" he handed the shiny silver badge to Aaron, who examined it with awe.

"I think he means to say thank you," Luke said. "Usually, when he gets something he desires, he ends up speechless."

Roark's face lit up with a smile. "Well, I'm glad to have had this battle, Aaron. It was a truly ecstatic experience for me."

"Same here, Roark," Aaron replied, putting the badge in Nick's little bag. Mind you, it was now bulking with money. Poor Nick.

valefor035: Sorry for the short chapter, I've been too busy unlocking all the music in SSBB with the conveyor belt and sandbag trick. I now have all 258 songs! Yay for me!

Aaron: So, is the cake a lie or not?

valefor035: Sorry to say, but it is. Please read and review!


	16. Remembrances

valeforXD: And now for a change of pace in contrast to the light-hearted-ness of the fic so far. Cliched as this chapter may seem to all those with a keen eye, I'm rather happy with this chapter. Anyway, enjoy!

(Also, due to circumstances which shall remain relatively private, my pen name on has been changed from valefor035 to valeforXD due to the fact that I am now unable to remember the connection between me and the number 35. I apologise for any convenience, but if you have trouble finding me you should have favourited me in the first place. So HA!!! Now on to the story.)

___________________________________________________________Chapter 16

After a good night's sleep at the Pokémon Center, with no distractions, sudden breakdowns, kidnappings or thefts from the cookie jar, Aaron, Nick, Dylbert and Luke departed from Oreburgh City the next morning, their next destination being Hearthome City. Luckily today, the sun was hidden behind a dense covering of grey clouds, almost as grey as a Donphan's skin. In fact, it looked like it was about to rain. Contrasting weather patterns were never really accepted by people, and Aaron and his friends were no exception. They already wanted the warm weather back.

"I don't know, guys," Dylbert said as they walked along the path to Hearthome City. "The rain is good and all, but I think I prefer the hot weather now. I'm freezing my tail fire off!"

"Well, I'm warm," Aaron replied, scratching at the bandage still on his arm, the wound underneath caused by Roark's Metal Claw attack the day before. Luckily for Aaron, it was healing fast.

Several drops of rain had begun to fall from the clouds above. Over a period of a few minutes, the rain picked up slowly until it was pouring down heavily, and that was what they needed to tell them they needed shelter. Just as they rushed into the shelter a tree provided nearby, Aaron saw a figure in the distance, but it was too hard to make out due to the heavy downpour.

"Aaron! We can't just stand out in the rain!" Nick shouted, grabbing him and dragging him along the path.

But Aaron shook himself free. "Wait a sec, Nick. I can see somebody over there."

Nick looked towards the figure in the near distance; it was clear now that the person was walking on all fours. "It's... a Pokémon?"

Aaron squinted hard to make out the Pokémon as it drew closer. When it was close enough, Aaron recognised it as a Mudkip. "A Mudkip? Could it be?" Aaron rushed towards the Mudkip. "Dylan! Is that you?"

The Mudkip looked up, revealing itself to be battered and bruised. "...W-who is that? Aaron?"

"Well, you catch on quick, don't you?"

Dylan smiled and ran towards them, crying gleefully as he did so. "I finally found you guys! Oh man, I'm so tired from running around looking for you!"

The group all sought shelter under the tree, and discussed what was going on. Aaron told Dylan about what Kyogre had told him in his dreams.

"Really?" Dylan asked, fascinated, as he ate an Oran Berry to get his health back up. "I mean, what about someone like Ash Ketchum, or the Pokémon League Champion, or-"

"Okay, seriously, everybody has assumed that when I've told them about this," Aaron replied angrily. "Don't you people think I can do this or something?"

Nobody answered.

"Brilliant. Great to know everybody's backing me up."

"We're only joking, Azz!" Luke replied, patting him on the back. "People just don't expect some average Joe to be able to save the world and stuff."

Immediately digressing from the current conversation, Aaron turned to Dylan. "So, what was it like, being held captive by Team Galactic for the past few weeks?"

"If I ever have to go back there again..." Dylan began to explain reluctantly. "It was horrible. Half the time, I was being experimented on so Team Galactic could find the right method of human transformation into Pokémon, which obviously they discovered, and the other half of the time I was either in a cage or, uh, 'playing' with the resident Garchomp. Just... Horrible."

Dylan continued to briefly discuss the time he spent with his captors for several minutes. "Although there was one upside to this. I was the first human in history to become a Pokémon!"

Aaron sighed deeply. "Yeah, I guess..." He looked down at the ground, hiding his face from the others. A tear fell from his eye and disappeared into the loose dirt beneath his feet.

"Are you okay, Aaron?" Dylan asked as everyone turned their attention to the weeping Pikachu.

Once again, Aaron sighed, still staring at the ground. "I'm afraid I haven't been totally honest with you guys," He muttered. The others gathered around to listen.

"I... I didn't get my Pikachu because I was excelling at school. And... My parents didn't leave to go to Hoenn six years ago to work at the Devon Corporation..."

"What are you talking about, Aaron?" Luke asked, perhaps starting to fear the worst for those Aaron mentioned.

Aaron breathed in deeply, and let it out again slowly. "It was the day before my tenth birthday, and my parents were taking me to the local shopping mall to get me a present..."

* * *

_I had seen all sorts of toys and games that I may have liked for my birthday, as my parents, Sarah and Alistair, were willing to get me whatever I wanted. But when we came across a store with several Pokémon inside, I was sold. It was like a pet store, only filled with a select group of diverse Pokémon species. Since I was turning 10 the next day, I had decided on what I had wanted._

"_Mum! Dad! Look! It's a Pokémon pet store! Can I get my own Pokémon? Please? Please?" I cried, jumping down like a much younger child._

"_Well, of course you can!" My father replied happily, rubbing his hand through my hair and making it look messy. My father was a tall man, perhaps over six feet tall, and at the time he was only about 30 years old. He had little facial hair, only the tiniest bit of hair above his top lip. His hair was rather obtuse, like mine; while my spiky hair was almost symmetrical, the individual spikes on his hair stranded all over the place. He wasn't muscular, but at the same time he wasn't morbidly anorexic; he was somewhere in between. He was a kind man, only opting to violence as a last resort when choice words were not an option. "Which Pokémon would you most like to get?"_

_I stared at the Pokémon inside the store, face pressed against the sparkly clean window. Within the store were all sorts of Pokémon, ones such as Buizel, Eevee and Cleffa, such rare Pokémon around the area. All such rare, cool or cute Pokémon. But there was one that caught my eye. Within one cage slept a yellow, mouse like Pokémon, curled up in its little straw bed, its lightning bolt shaped tail curled around it, its ears hanging limply from its head. _

_My mother stood next to me. Not quite as tall as my father, she was still fairly tall, and the same age as him. She had long swaying blonde hair atop her beautiful face, and she wasn't fat nor skinny either. She was just as kind as my father, but she hated to fight even if it was necessary. The two of them shared a special Pokémon together: a shiny Milotic, of whose skin was a lighter yellow and its tail was covered in stunning green scales. The two cherished their beautiful Pokémon, and promised one day that their own son, me, would gain custody of that Milotic. _

"_I see you're eyeing that Pikachu in there, Aaron..." My mother said as she knelt down beside me. She always knelt down to talk to me, seeing as I wasn't tall enough to have a conversation eye to eye at that age._

"_Oh, Mummy! Can I? That Pikachu looks so adorable, and when I become a Pokémon Trainer, I'll train it to be the strongest Pikachu on the earth!"_

_My mother smiled. "Of course, dear. That Pikachu would make a fine par-"_

_My mother was interrupted by a sudden explosion within the shopping centre. We turned around to find a huge flying vehicle hovering outside, as men in weird silvery outfits slid down ropes dropped from it, all visible through a gaping hole in the wall. They began to rush into the centre as a massive sea of silver and blue, so it was impossible to see exactly what they were doing. The airship landed behind them. There was an explosion behind us in the Pokémon store, and we flinched, ducking for cover as glass and metal flew through the air._

_My mother held onto my hand tightly. "We must get out of here, Allistair! They shall not hurt our-" But before she could finish, they were grabbed by an Ursaring that towered over the two hapless humans, and were carried off, disappearing into the crowd of thugs._

_I was scared. "Mum? Dad? Come back!" But before I could make an attempt to run after them, I was blocked off, the ever rushing crowd of thugs blocking me from all sides._

_Only after a minute was I able to chase after my parents, but they had already disappeared. Disoriented, I searched around the area for any sign of them, but to no avail. Then, something caught my eye. Underneath the remains of the store behind me. A tail stuck out from underneath the big lump of debris, shaped like a lightning bolt. I rushed over to see what it was, slowly lifting up the debris and throwing it out of the way._

_It was the Pikachu from before, the same Pikachu I had articulated over obtaining for myself only minutes ago. It appeared battered and bruised, weak but still alive. I shovelled it up into my hands. "Are you okay, little guy?" I asked._

_The Pikachu responded with a soft "Pi... Ka..."_

_I was glad. "Do you think you could stand up?"_

_The Pikachu sat up in my arms, then jumped down onto the ground. "Pikachu!"_

"_That's great! You sure recovered fast! Now, we have to chase after those thugs! They took my parents to that airship, I think. Let's go!"_

_As we ran for the airship, it was beginning to lift off the ground. An opening in the airship was beginning to close up, so we ran straight for it and leaped through the air, barely grabbing onto the edge. We climbed up as it closed up, falling flat on our butts._

_Not wasting any time, we rushed through a door and along a seemingly never ending corridor. At the end of it, however, I heard voices. I rushed to the room where I heard these familiar voices, and saw..._

* * *

The others waited patiently as Aaron tried to remember exactly what he saw. "Saw what, Aaron?" Luke asked, now incredibly tense.

Aaron did not answer, concentrating on trying to conjure up the images he saw that day, but it was to no avail. "I'm sorry, but I can't remember exactly what I saw. I can only remember the voices... I remember seeing a shadowy looking figure, and I think my parents were there too..."

* * *

"_Mum! Dad! I found you!" I shouted, panting panting heavily._

"_Aaron? Aaron, what are you doing here?"_

"_What are you doing to us?"_

"_Wait, mum? What's... going on?" I sounded like I was about to cry, but as to why exactly I wasn't sure now. I couldn't tell who was saying what, or who was even there with my parents._

"_Please, have mercy!"_

"_Aaron, sweetheart, get out of here before they get you too!"_

"_Wait... Don't leave me!" I shouted again._

"_Son, you have to do as we say! Now, get out of here while you still have the chance!"_

"_Please, for the love of God!"_

_I heard a deeper voice bow, who sounded very familiar as well. "This is what you get for showing pity for your fellow human beings..."_

_I was about ready to cry, anger building up inside of me. "Leave them alone! Get away from them!_

_ZZZZZAAAAAAAPPPPPP!!!

* * *

_

Aaron suddenly shot up at that sound recurring inside his head. He sighed heavily. "After that crackling of electricity, I can't remember much else. But, I know one thing for sure... Even though I can't remember it clearly..."

Everyone fell silent momentarily as Aaron shed another tear, disappearing in the dirt underneath him.

"It was Team Galactic... They... They killed them..."

Everyone gasped, surprised that such a thing could possibly happen.

"Team Galactic...killed my parents... They're gone..."

"Aaron, I-" Luke started, but he was stopped as Aaron had broken down into tears.

"They killed them... *****sniffle* And there was nothing I could do to stop them!"

Luke walked over to the weeping Pikachu and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Aaron, I'm... We're... So sorry..."

Aaron sniffled before looking up at him.

"It's okay now," He continued. "I think we understand why you wanted to go on this journey all along, Aaron."

"...You do?"

"You want to extract your revenge on Team Galactic. You want revenge on those who took your parents from this world... I fully understand now."

Aaron stopped crying and settled down. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier. "It's just, if I told you how Pikachu became my partner, I'd suddenly be reminded of the horrible memory I tried to repress for so long."

Luke smiled. "It's not a good idea to repress your memories, Azz. It's better if you let them out, share them with those close to you. That way, you'll feel better about yourself."

Aaron managed to display a weak smile. "Thank you, Luke. Thank you, everyone, for all this. I feel so much better." He turned to Dylbert reluctantly. "Listen, Dylbert, I... I know you've been a little...worried about the choices that we have made over the past few days... I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to go home now."

Dylbert jumped. "What? You're joking! I may have my doubts up until now, but seeing you like that, and knowing what happened to your parents, I want to help in any way I can!"

Aaron sniffled loudly, getting the last of the tears out of his system. At this rate, though, they'd be coming back, only as tears of joy. "You really mean it?"

The slightly reluctant Chimchar nodded happily. "Of course I do! I'm not ditching a friend when he needs help!"

Aaron felt like he really was going to cry again, but not wanting to look like a soft-hearted leader, he repressed his tears. "Really, thank you all for your kindness and understanding. But, we can't just wait here all day and hang around in the past! We gotta put the past behind us, and push on forward into enemy territory! Who's with me?"

"I'm in! For sure!" Dylbert cried.

"You can count me in!" Luke replied enthusiastically.

"I got your back, Azz!" Nick shouted. "What about you, Dylan? Are you gonna come with us or not?"

"I already said I was," Dylbert replied.

"Not you, Dylbert, I was talking to Dylan. God, why couldn't you be born with a different name? It's really hard on us, y'know." Nick turned back to Dylan, the Mudkip Dylan and not the Chimchar Dylbert. "So how about it?"

Dylan hesitated a little. "But, what about _my _parents? I... Oh, stuff it. I'm coming too!"

Once the rain had settled down, the group pushed on towards Hearthome City. As they walked, however, Aaron began to remember more of the repressed memory, the aftermath of what had happened.

* * *

_Whatever it was that I had seen, it had seriously upset me, and I couldn't stand it any longer. Wanting to get away from all the torment, the torture, the murder... I scooped Pikachu up in my arms and ran like crazy. I didn't care who got in my way, I just ran, bashing through them like I didn't notice them. I jumped off the airship as it was about to take off, but I didn't look back. _

_I just kept running. Not once did I look back._

_I kept running, even though my legs were getting increasingly sore and it was becoming harder and harder to do so. Finally, I arrived home. I bashed through the door, not caring of any damage I had just caused. I loosened my grip on Pikachu and allowed him to drop out of my arms, before falling to the floor myself, completely exhausted. Pikachu tugged at my shirt, thinking I was unconscious, and he wanted me to wake up._

"_Pikachu... It's okay..."_

_Pikachu eyed me suspiciously, but then his look became one filled with sorrow, remembering what had just happened to my parents._

"_Don't worry, Pikachu," I muttered under my breath. "I promise, I'll look after you. I'll guard you with my life."_

"_Pika?" Pikachu said, his face lighting up immensely as Aaron grabbed a Poké Ball from his pocket._

"_Do you want to be my partner, Pikachu?"_

"_Pi! Pika Pi!" Pikachu nodded vigorously. With that, I tapped the little Pokémon on the head with the Poké Ball, and Pikachu was absorbed into it in the form of a red beam of malleable energy which swirled its way into the device. _

_I may have lost those that were close to me, but I had gained a Pokémon, a friend, a partner.

* * *

_

valeforXD: Wow, Aaron, I had no idea...

Aaron: Uh, you sorta made the story, buddy. You should know these things.

valeforXD: But still... Sniffle...

Aaron: So how's your new name going? What happened to valefor035? Do you know how confusing that is to all your loyal readers?

valeforXD: Well, I made it XD because that's how I feel right now. I feel like shouting like a madman because I have SSBB. Who wouldn't do that?

Aaron: Can we just continue to Chapter 17? I think I'm gonna cry again.


	17. Here Comes The Lukey Man!

valeforXD: Note that at the time of writing, I am also working on previous chapters, rewriting them using my newfound skill thanks to a number of factors: most notably the advice ScytheRider has recently given me, taking time out of writing his awesome _Silver Resistance _fic to help out, which was much appreciated, plus the skills that I am obtaining from my Advanced English class. Hopefully, some time soon, I should be implementing these skills into _The Mishaps and Marvels... _so until then, enjoy simplicity at its finest!

Also, I see people are voting in my poll, but why, even though I have stated that there will be Lucario in the story, that you're all voting for that to happen anyway? Maybe I shouldn't have put it as a choice. C'mon, I really want Nick to die!

_________________________________________________________________Chapter 17

Poor old Aaron had never been in so many wretched caves in his life. In fact, not counting the time he has spent in the puny form of a furry electric mouse with the ability to manipulate electricity, and also not counting the many random encounters with the countless supply of inbred Zubats that he encountered within such places on the Nintendo games, he'd never been in one. Yet he was already overly disgusted with the abundance in which these locales existed. He and his entourage of Pokemon friends plus one, the newly acquired Mudkip named Dylan, stood at the foot of Mt Coronet, at which there was an opening in the rocky mountainside to form a cave.

It wasn't so much the caves that displeased him, as he didn't mind the dark and linear path that the places provided to wandering trainers. Rather it was the never ending supply of Zubat within that exasperated him to no end, let alone their untimely evolutions. Unleashing Supersonic to confuse your Pokemon, then slowly leeching away at its life energy while your Pokemon attacked itself in its dazed state. As good as he was at battling, Aaron hated Zubat.

It didn't help that he just recently broke down in tears due to the memory of his deceased parents he had bottled up in his mind for five or so years. The existing sadness, mixed with the increasing frustration of flocking bats, was going to be hard to tackle while escaping with at least some of sanity and reasoning.

"Yep, a helluva lot of Zubat in here," Nick continued to explain as fruitfully as a tour guide, considering he had been here before. "They're always going to come out of the shadows and gang up on you when you least expect it. But, its the quickest way to Hearthome City."

Dylan groaned raucously. "Always with the Zubat. There's probably more Zubat on this earth then there are humans, y'know."

"Given current circumstances, that is highly conceivable," Luke chimed in.

"What are you on about?" Dylan replied, eyeing him peculiarly.

"Nothing, Dylan. I just tried to make myself sound smarter, with no real positive outcome."

"Um, guys, if you wouldn't mind..." Dylbert uttered, shuddering behind the group. "Can we just get through this thing as quickly as possible?"

Aaron, surprisingly at the head of their little entourage, signalled for the others to follow suit as they marched into the cave. The sunlight behind them slowly faded until it was nothing more than a spec of luminosity. The only thing providing any real source of light was Dylbert's tailfire.

"I think you should go up front, Dylbert," Aaron suggested, having trouble distinguishing someone from someone else unless they were in Dylbert's little zone of radiance.

But the Chimchar was reluctant to do so. He was shivering immensely now. "I know I said I wanted to help out in any way I can a little while ago, but I meant anything not to do with providing guidance through caves."

"Unfortunately for you, you're the fire type in this party," Nick protested, although he was clearly just as scared.

"Don't worry, Dyl," Aaron reassured him, placing a feeble hand on his shoulder. "We got your back."

"If I had a Poke Dollar for every time I heard that..." Dylbert unenthusiastically led the way into the cave, contemplating the equation he had just set in his head. Probably four Poke Dollars, he concluded.

The assembly of Pokemon had seemingly been walking for hours, even though it had only been about forty minutes, when a small pebble hit Nick on his muzzle as they reached a fork in the road. Before he could ask who threw it, Luke felt one, a slightly larger rock, smack him on the forehead. Luke looked up at the cracked ceiling of the cave, only to have another rock, the size of a Poke Ball, hit him square between the eyes.

"The ceiling!" Aaron bellowed over the sound of falling rocks amongst them. "It's about to collapse! Run for it!"

Instinctively, everyone ran as far away from the crumbling rocks as possible, running in unintentional directions, as large boulders crashed onto the ground where they once stood. When they were a safe distance, they ducked down and concealed themselves under their arms. For about thirty seconds did the boulders tumble onto each other, forming a blockade right in the middle of the fork in the road.

When it all stopped, Aaron stood up again and checked his surroundings. Sure enough, the boulders had forced them to take the right tunnel, as there was no other way through to the other side of the boulders again. But, it seemed only Dylbert and Luke were there with him, he noticed, as they unsheltered themselves and realised the painful death that they had just evaded. Aaron immediately thought Nick and Dylan weren't so lucky. The bag that Nick carried lay next to the pyramid of boulders, pointing to obvious conclusions. "Dylan? Nick?" Aaron called as loudly as possible to get his voice through the boulders. "Are you guys there?"

He barely heard a voice on the other side, but muffled as it was, he could still make it out. "Don't worry! We're okay!"

Aaron, Luke and Dylbert breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just go on! I know both of these tunnels lead to the exit! Dylan and I will meet you there!" With that, the voices were no longer audible, as Aaron assumed they had trudged off on their own.

"Well, you heard Nick!" Aaron exclaimed, swinging the bag over his shoulder. We just keep going this way and we should reach the exit. Let's go!"

Dylbert turned around to lead the small group off into the distance, only to smack into a wall. Recovering slowly, he looked up to see that the wall stretched on far above them, off into the indiscernible distance. The wall was lined with rocks and small ledges that stuck out, perhaps suggesting that one would have to climb it to advance any further. The disgruntled Chimchar moaned loudly. "We don't really have to climb this thing, do we?"

Luke was keen to get climbing, considering he was a born wall scaler, at least he had been for the past few days. He was jogging on the spot, warming himself up while Dylbert had a little cry.

"Dylbert, I know it's a big climb," Aaron tried to convince the fearful teen. "But we have to do it. Do you wanna be stuck down here for the rest of your soon-to-be incredibly short life? Perhaps insanity would get the better of you before you died of starvation, having little maggots eat away at what remained of your flesh and bone as you slowly decayed into nothing but dust that would fade away in the wind..."

Dylbert moaned again; Aaron's statement was utter rubbish, because no wind could ever flow this deep inside a cave. "I bet Nick and Dylan have got the easy path."

"I bet Aaron, Luke and Dylbert have got the easy path," Dylan suggested as he and Nick stared down into a vast stretch of water. It seemed to be crawling with life, some lowly fish and some big hulking monsters, at least, but neither Nick nor Dylan had found the opportunity to test out their new underwater capabilities. Being able to breathe underwater, it shouldn't have been too much of a problem for the two. _Unless Nick stuffs it up somehow, _Dylan thought.

"You go in first," Nick suggested to his partner. "I might just stuff things up."

"Okay." _Even he agrees with me. _Dylan proceeded to dive into the vast pool of water, and Nick soon followed. Under the water, it was surprisingly cold, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. In fact, it felt rather soothing to Nick. Almost as if it were natural, as if he had been born experiencing the thrills of being below the surface. Not worrying about having to breathe, he glided through the water gracefully, demonstrating a variety of swimming styles such as the backstroke and butterfly that he was never really capable of without the intense training he never paid to learn from. Dylan was more serious on the matter, keeping his wit about him as they swam deeper into the waters.

As they swam deeper, clusters of coral and non-Pokemon fish surrounded them on all sides: the abundant numbers of the fish was staggering for such a small body of water, at least compared to the ocean. The coral reefs that surrounded them were filled with many species of fish, and the many colours of the reef itself was breathtaking, some anenomies gave off a lustrous glow that enticed Nick to swim closer, but he was hastily nudged away from the allure of the reef by Dylan, and they continued through the body of water.

After a few minutes, the local populace began to recede back into their habitat quickly. Nick and Dylan were not fully aware of this at first, but began to notice as the reef itself was becoming less apparent. There was less coral as there was before; perhaps they were reaching the end? Dylan contemplated over this as he swam alongside the unwary Totodile.

A loud growl of sorts echoed through the water. Dylan and Nick quickly searched their surroundings to find the source, but nothing was there. Dylan eyed Nick, and Nick simply shrugged.

The growl pierced the waters again, and Dylan and Nick were still left scratching their heads as to where the noise was coming from. Still there was no sign of life excluding themselves...

Shrugging it off again, Nick turned around again to continue swimming...

Dylan shook in fear as the water shifted nearby; two burly Huntail were staring Nick in the face.

Nick was afraid to move; surely he was outmatched by their numbers, let alone their agility? If he were to move, he would be caught easily, yet if he didn't, he would be brought down faster than the Titanic. (Sorry for the crappy simile) Dylan, scared for their safety, made a rash move. He swam straight for the first Huntail and slammed into it, flinging it through the water. As it turned back to face him, he noticed the glint of red in its eyes...

Nick was next to act, latching himself onto the second Huntail with his gaping maw. The enemy tried to shake it off, but Nick remained persistent to inflict some damage and increase his chance of not being hit. Unfortunately for him, the other Huntail swam straight up and slammed into him with its long, snake-like body, immediately loosening his grip.

The two Huntail seemed interested mainly in Nick as they rhythmically swam towards him, but Dylan proceeded with a Take Down attack, his head impacting rigorously against the Pokemon's body, sending it careering uncontrollably towards the other Huntail. A chance to escape had revealed itself; Nick and Dylan were only metres from escaping the vast pool of water, so they swam for it like crazy.

The Huntail were quick to recover, rhythmically speeding towards their prey as they tried to escape. Only inches away now, they lunged forward, gaping mouths chomping at Nick and Dylan. They pushed themselves to swim faster, barely escaping being eaten at as they leaped out of the water in spectacular fashion, landing on the cold and rocky ground with a thud.

Dylan and Nick were heavily panting as they stood up, but thankful they were finally out of the water. Neither of them said anything, as they continued on towards the exit.

Dylbert had already scaled half of the wall presented before them, leading the way so that he could illuminate the wall for Aaron and Luke. Dylbert and Aaron were finding the ascend tough, but Luke was scrambling up the wall with ease. Wanting to show off, he began to sing everybody's favourite theme song. Sort of.

"Lukey Man! Lukey Man! Does whatever a sexy stud can! Can he swing from a web? I don't think so cos he's a Treecko, look out! Here comes the Lukey Man!"

"Oh, stop showing off, Luke," Aaron complained as he slowly pulled himself up the wall.

"Oh, fine." Luke continued to climb with ease, but at the same time, he began to ponder. "I wonder what Pokemon Peter Parker would be? Y'know, since the whole world has been turned into Pokemon..."

"Isn't it obvious?" Dylbert shouted from above, clearly not concentrating on the ascending of the wall. "He would be an Ariados."

"I guess..." Luke stayed quiet after that point, embarassed by his lack of common sense in that question.

Following the long silence, Aaron heard a crumbling noise from above. He looked up to see that Dylbert had lost his footing on a rock as it crumbled in the air and fell to the ground. He desperately searched for even footing using his flailing legs.

"Just keep calm, Dylbert!" Luke shouted from below.

But Dylbert didn't hear him, as he was too busy floundering about. He screamed as he lost his grip on the rocks above, falling down past Aaron. He was still flailing madly, but thankfully Luke was able to grab a hold of his hand quickly before he fell any further.

Dylbert, still disoriented from his mishap fall, steadily grabbed Luke's arm with his free hand to stabilise himself, but Luke was losing his grip. 'I can't hold on much longer!" Luke announced. "You'll have to leap for the wall!"

"But..." Dylbert shuddered, making it even harder for Luke to hold him. His hand was becoming increasingly drenched with sweat.

"You...have to, Dylbert! I'll swing my arm toward the wall...and you jump! Ready? On the count of three!" He began to swing lightly, working up until the big throw. "One..."

"I don't think I can do this..."

"Two..."

"Luke, wait! I-"

But Luke ignored him, swinging his arm to the wall with the panic-stricken Chimchar in it. "Three!" Luke shouted, and let go of Dylbert. The split second Dylbert witnessed while he was in mid-air was blood-curdling, as he closed his eyes and imagined himself falling down towards the bottom of the cave, splatting against the ground...

Not feeling that he was descending any more, he opened his eyes... A rocky wall stared back at him, a sign of relief and safety.

"Don't worry, Dylbert!" Aaron cried, now about five metres above Luke and Dylbert in their ascent up the wall. "Just climb it at your own pace! I'll meet you two at the top!"

Inevitably, Aaron waited at the top of the rocky wall as Luke and Dylbert slowly but steadily made their way up. Dylbert looked incredibly frightened as he clambered up onto the ledge, heavily panting. Luke followed behind, doing a front flip as he landed gracefully on the ledge. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" He declared as dusted his hands off.

Dylbert was shaking vigorously, afraid to look down below him. He clearly wasn't prepared to dignify that question with a moral response.

Aaron, who had been waiting for several minutes, was rearing to go. "Well, now that's settled, let's continue on, shall we?" Aaron turned around and marched forward, not looking where he was going.

"Aaron! Look out!" Luke shouted, grabbing Aaron by the arm and pulling him back.

"Luke! What are you-" Aaron began, but stopped when he looked down at the seemingly bottomless pit that he was inattentively about to waltz into.

"There's a big hole there, Aaron." Luke replied.

"I am aware of that..." Aaron groaned. "Exactly what Pokemon live in this cave, huh? What sort of Pokemon enjoys tirelessly crossing bottomless pits just to get around?"

"Well, considering all the bats that live in here..."

Aaron groaned loudly again, noticing a thin ledge across the side of the pit, barely eligible to qualify as a path. A human's foot was one sure to slip off it the instant it stepped on it, so what of the three little Pokemon who found there to be no other way across? Well, it wouldn't be much of a chapter if Lugia suddenly appeared again and flew them to safety. No, Lugia is much too busy anyway.

"The only way across is on that ledge, I guess..." Aaron hesitated. He proceeded for the ledge, carefully placing one little furry foot on the ledge, which crumbled a little bit as he did. He shifted along a little as he put his second foot down, the pressure of his feet causing the fragile looking ledge to crumble even more. He leaned up against the wall, arms outstretched, and began to shimmy along the ledge. Reluctantly, Dylbert followed, attentively placing his own feet on the ledge, quivering as more of the ledge disappeared into the black void below him, and proceeded to shimmy along the wall himself. Luke soon followed suit, carefully shimmying along the wall, putting his poker face on so as to hide how frightened he was.

Taking it cautiously, the trio slowly crept along the ledge, trying not to apply too much pressure on their feet incase the ground beneath them gave way. Aaron was sweating immensely; the pressure of not applying too much pressure with his feet was overwhelming, but he kept his cool, not distracting himself by thoughtlessly conversing with Luke and Dylbert. He just focused on the rhythm in which he shimmied along the wall. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. The rhythm he created was almost hypnotising, and if he fell asleep, surely he wouldn't wake up until the ground at the bottom of the pit below collided with his puny body and splattered it all over Mt Coronet's cave system. He tried to imagine something else. But what? Smash Bros. Brawl? Poke chow? His own Pikachu, along with his other Pokemon, mercilessly captured by the deviate hands of Team Galactic? No, that would only upset him and make things worse. Only one of the reasons to get across and continue on the journey.

A sudden screeching noise pierced his ears, causing Aaron to lose his track of thought. The screeching was incredibly uncomfortable to the ear. "Surely, it can't be..."

In the near distance, a large flock of Zubat appeared, flapping madly towards the three cornered Pokemon. They shrieked constantly, making Aaron want to shield his ears from the onslaught, would he not have fallen to his doom if he did so. As he stared them down, he remembered what Nick had said earlier:

_They're always going to come out of the shadows and gang up on you when you least expect it._

"Great, Nick. You jinxed us."

The Zubat quickly drew closer, and the trio realised they were going to have to attack them to scare them away. Without falling off, this could be difficult...

And then, the Zubat were swarming them like they were the mouldy food and the Zubat were the pesky flies. They flashed their teeth and rabidly attempted to sink their teeth into their tender, juicy skin. Then, Aaron had an idea. Not wasting time with words, he charged up the electricity in his cheeks and unleashed a potent Thunderbolt toward the Zubat. Many of them were caught in the electric blast, immediately fluttering away from them.

Luke and Dylbert caught a glance at Aaron's attack, taking the wordless message in for themselves. Luke sprayed seeds from his mouth at machine gun-like speed, slowly picking off the Zubats that surrounded him, and Dylbert launched an Ember attack to scorch all those who dare oppose him.

Aaron, Luke and Dylbert continued to launch attack after attack, slowly picking the Zubat off until they had all disappeared into the darkness beyond. They all panted heavily, still trying not to fall off the ledge.

"Let's just go," Dylbert suggested, and the other two agreed hastily.

_Finally, sunlight! _Aaron exclaimed mentally as he, Luke and Dylbert rushed towards the source of illumination. Finally exiting through the hole provided in the wall, they squinted as the sunlight beamed down on them, impairing their sight for a few seconds. As Luke became adjusted to the sudden light, he saw a Totodile and a Mudkip resting against a tree.

" 'Bout time you got here!" The Mudkip, Dylan, barked at the trio.

Aaron sneered at him; he was literally dead on his feet after the climbing and shimmying he had done.

Nick stood up, still looking bruised and beat. "So, what happened in there?"

Dylbert hesitated. "The less said about it, the better, I think. What about you?"

"We're not talking about it." And with that, they all continued along the path to Hearthome City. Nick thought to himself as they trudged along: _What happens in Mt. Coronet, stays in Mt. Coronet._

valeforXD: It's about time I finished that chapter!

Aaron: What's up with the ending? What happens in Mt. Coronet, stays in... Look, how corny is that?

valeforXD then summons the infamous Lukeyman, who jumps in and shouts, "I'M A FIRIN MAH LAZAR! BLAAAAAHHHHHH"

And thus, Aaron was never seen again. At least, until Chapter 18. valeforXD promises something exciting will happen in Chapter 18: All For The Money!


	18. All For The Money

valeforXD: Did everybody enjoy my rant on Zubat? Perhaps not everybody understands, but I am quite simply fed up with them. But there are forums on which to unleash my woes upon. I must digress, for this is FanFiction, so I may as well get on with the fanfic!

Before we do, however, I must note that I am impressed with the views I am getting. 600 may be insignificant, but I was expecting only a couple dozen a month, in all honesty, considering I am more or less a mediocre writer. At least, compared to others... (ScytheRider, I'm lookin' at you) But, for all those who stick with me anyways, I am improving the older chapters bit by bit, so expect so see little bits of chapters changed each day (weekdays, at least). Using my newfound super powers of increased vocabulary skills, I shall make them even more entertaining. Note that I had to make some changes to Chapter 3 and/or 4 to make this chapter work better, so don't blame me if it doesn't make sense if you were paying attention to the descriptions of characters at the beginning.

Anyway, on to the next part in the (thrilling) UnNaturals series! (That's what it's called, this whole escapade, seeing as there will be sequels. You'd know if you read Chapter 1 recently, no doubt you haven't.) Its got a new line separating thing, too! w00t for asterisks!!!

************************************************************Chapter 18

Finally escaping from the unfortold dangers of Mt. Coronet, Aaron and his entourage of travelling companions were well and truly happy that they were simply walking down a road, with no evil Zubat or Huntail or falling ledges or anything remotely dangerous. Perhaps not the most interesting part of their journey, but still... The scenery around them was seemingly repeating itself, the forest they walked in looking identical to every other they had travelled through over the past few days. Birds chirped as they soared through the air, bugs scuttled up trees... They had all seen it before.

"I'm still failing to accept this whole 'fate has chosen me to save the world' thing," Aaron said, hesitating. "I'm sure I said it before, but why me?"

Nick, who strolled alongside him, laid his head back against his miniature arms, relaxing a little bit. "I'm sure glad it's not me who has to do this. I'd just stuff things up, big time."

Dylan smirked secretly behind him. _I can't believe he even thinks that! Not that we all don't... _"Well, er-hem... I, uh, think you should consider yourself lucky! I mean, you could be famous after all this!" He exclaimed.

Aaron was still not buying it. "I just can't shake the feeling that something bad is gonna happen at the end of all this... One of us could... die..."

"Oh, stop being so mopey, Azz!" Nick replied, giving Aaron a playful and soft slap up the head. "We should be enjoying the trip! We're finally out of Jubilife City and enjoying the wilderness as it should be! We're not inside doing school work, we're outside living it up like a kid is supposed to!"

Perhaps Nick was right. Aaron was acting way too serious about this whole thing. He was beginning to think, if he was too serious, then the journey wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable. He should slow down and have time to enjoy what each locale threw at him, not just skip it and continue on his merry way to stop Cyrus. "You're right, Nick," Aaron replied, after a long silence of contemplation. "I'm being way too serious about all this. We should just take our time and enjoy the journey."

His feet beginning to feel sore, Nick wished Hearthome City would soon come into view. "But... Maybe not today. I need a rest."

Only minutes later did the bustling city come into view as they stood atop a tall incline to the west of it. Nick sighed; finally, they had almost arrived.

* * *

The city seemed to be bustling with activity late in the afternoon, with street performers everywhere. As much as a fire-breathing Charizard was natural, the little children enjoyed the intense display of searing fire as it blasted through the dragon's maw. Nearby, a Smeargle hastily slopped its tail over a canvas, and gave away the resulting portraits of customers. A burly Machamp lifted a car into the air and began to juggle it effortlessly. Aaron and the others were amazed at how crowded the venue was, and even more so at the talents these Pokémon portrayed. Except the Charizard. That's sort of... not impressive.

Even with all the street performers, they had to be here for a reason. Not just to make a quick buck, no, there had to be some special event on at the moment. People don't gather from all over Sinnoh just to watch fire, obtain self-portraits and watch a four armed freak juggle heavy objects. But Aaron was at a loss. He had hardly left the outskirts of Jubilife City in his lifetime, except to return to his home, of course, and to Sandgem Town, where Nick lived, so he was unaware of any annual events any other city or town had.

Nick was at a loss, too. "Don't ask me," He replied hastily as Aaron asked what may have been happening. He shrugged it off. "As much as I am smart, I don't have a clue as to what's going on." Some help Nick was.

Several minutes of slowly trudging through the street performers and Dylbert caught a glimpse of the huge Hearthome Contest Hall, standing out heavily against the other simply designed buildings.. "There may be a contest on," He suggested. "Let's go check it out!"

Rushing down to the Contest Hall and stopping at the entrance, Dylbert pointed out a poster and read it in his head. The poster had a picture of a Milotic elegantly showing off a Hydro Pump attack, as it launched into the air and fell back onto the Pokémon, making it look like a fountain, surrounded by ineligible text from the distance they were looking at it. The others waited patiently as Dylbert considered many things in his head.

Dylbert finally turned around, a smug smirk spread wide across his little monkey face. "That's it! I'm going to enter the Wallace Cup!"

Everyone gave him an odd look of speculation. Nick broke the uneasy silence with a terribly ignorant question; "What's the Wallace Cup?"

Dylbert slapped himself in the forehead. "It's a contest, you nitwit. A contest of huge proportions!"

Nick still stared at him, dumbfounded.

"You don't know what a contest is?"

Nick shook his head vigorously.

"But you've been around the world! Surely you've been to a contest once in your lifetime?"

"Is there any point asking?" Nick replied, a little embarrassed. "I haven't been to a 'contest,' okay?"

Luke stepped in, sick of not conversing with the rest of the group. "Allow me to explain. A Pokémon Contest is a competition in which trainers show off their Pokémon, or in this case, themselves, in the most visually appealing way possible, using moves to their advantage. The winner of a contest, as judged by three judges, obtains a ribbon. Five ribbons gets you into the Grand Contest, I think."

"So, it's a bit like obtaining Gym Badges and getting into the Pokémon League?" Nick replied curiously.

"Pretty much, only raw power and strategy won't get you far here. It's gotta take a whole lot of-"

"Pass." Nick held his hand up to signal Luke to stop. "No thank you."

Luke shrugged. "Well, whatever. So are you going to enter, Dylbert, or..." He turned around to see the little Chimchar was already at the registration counter. The others followed him in.

"Excuse me," Dylbert asked in his most socially etiquette voice to the Lopunny behind the counter. "I would like to register for the Wallace Cup, please!"

The Lopunny sighed, somewhat exasperated. "I'm sorry, sir, but registration has closed. It's been so for about an hour now."

Dylbert's heart sank. He was devastated; he had always wanted to participate in the Wallace Cup, ever since he was a little child, and now this... This... Lopunny, for Dylbert lacked a better choice of words that did not involve profanities, was preventing him from following his dream! "Oh, please, I must be in the Wallace Cup! It's always been my dream to be here!"

Once again sighing, the Lopunny hesitated to answer. "You should of thought about that before you turned up an hour late. Now, if you'll please excuse me..."

Luke placed an arm in front of Dylbert and pushed him back. "Let me handle this, Dyl." He leaped up onto the counter and got as close to the anthropomorphic-esque bunny as possible. He sat on the edge of the counter to seem more seductive. "Perhaps me and you can discuss this little issue...over dinner? Just me and you over a candlelight dinner... You know you can't resist it..."

There was a sudden flash of light, and in an instant Luke was face down on the ground, a huge lump rising from his head, his tongue dangling lifelessly from his mouth. The Lopunny dusted her hands off, turning her back to them. "Sorry, I don't date midgets."

All seemed lost now. Dylbert stood by Luke and patted him on the head as he lay dazed on the cold, tiled floor. "Thanks for trying, Luke. But, it looks like I wont be getting in now..."

"Now hold on just a minute!" A voice boomed from the main door as a long, snake-like figure stood in it. It slithered towards them slowly but elegantly, its beautiful scales gleaming in the unnatural light. Aaron recognised it as a Milotic, nothing more, only because he had a Milotic of his own, but Dylbert recognised him as a renowned co-ordinator.

"Now, now, I see no reason why this young Chimchar can not participate in my own contest!" The Milotic demanded, although his voice was not frightening nor dominant.

The Lopunny blushed under the shadow of the Pokémon's divine and beauteous figure. "I am so sorry, Wallace, sir, it's just... Registration closed an hour ago..."

"Surely you can make an exception?" The Milotic, Wallace, softly pleaded. "This young boy wishes to share his talent with the world, and if that is what he so desires, then so it shall be! Nothing should dare stop him from following his dreams!"

Dylbert's eyes were blind with awe and delight. It really was Wallace! And he had come to help him, Dylbert, of all people! Words alone could not describe how he felt then, nor could the slightly weird expression his face displayed, one that spurted drool all over the shiny floor.

"Now, please, I shall see a participation form before me," Wallace inquired, as the Lopunny fetched a green piece of paper with all sorts of little white boxes littered all over it, from under the counter. A pen was placed next to the paper. Wallace turned to the starstruck Chimchar. "Well, child, you shall have to tell me, what is your name?"

Dylbert stopped expensing drool for a minute and straightened up. "Oh, uh... My name is Dylbert, sir."

Wallace gave him a fascinated look. "Dylbert? An odd name... Certainly it shall help me remember it! I have not yet heard that name before..."

"Well, my real name is Dylan, but that Mudkip there is also named Dylan, so everybody just calls me Dylbert."

"And your last name?"

"Oh, my last name is..." Just at that moment, a large crowd cheered happily outside. Something was going on, but whatever it was, nobody could quite see from inside.

"Sorry? I missed that, Dylbert," Wallace replied.

"It's-" The crowd cheered again.

"Ah, so it's Dylbert-" The crowd cheered even louder this time.

"That's it, sir."

Wallace picked up the pen in his mouth and began to scribble on the paper. He then stopped and dropped the pen, turning back to Dylbert. "Perhaps it would be easier if you filled this out, Dylbert?" He suggested. Dylbert jumped up onto the counter and received the pen. "You'll have to excuse me, miss," He said to the Lopunny, who was laid back against a purple wall behind the counter. "I have no arms, you see."

The Lopunny couldn't help but to roll her eyes. "Oh, I... hmm... Didn't notice, sir..."

Dylbert quickly filled out the form and placed the pen on the counter, as the Lopunny then collected it. "Well, tomorrow, I'll be performing in the Wallace Cup!" He cried, throwing his fist into the air.

"That's the spirit!" Wallace smiled. "I shall expect great things from you, young Dylbert. Come tomorrow, your skills will be put to the test! Even if you should fail, you should never mourn over your loss, but try harder until you succeed! Keep this in mind, child, and you shall be a winner!" With that encouraging speech, Wallace left for the actual arena behind the reception counter. Rumour had it that Wallace trained there daily, but because nobody was allowed in the arena, nobody knew.

As he left, however, he stopped as he passed the Pikachu who stood off to the side. He eyed him curiously. "Hmm... I can't help but to think I know you from somewhere..."

For a minute, Aaron and Wallace made direct contact, trying to make sense of the situation. But, Wallace finally gave up. "Bah. It is no matter. I must depart now. Farewell, all!" And he slithered out of the room, his gleaming scaly tail disappearing around the corner behind the rest of his body.

Aaron was a little confused at what had just happened, yet his feet where aching too much for him to comprehend a moral answer in his head. He needed sleep, and so did everyone else. "Maybe we should just go to the Pokémon Center," He suggested.

* * *

In an area less populated by buildings and street performers lay a Pokémon Center, perhaps the perfect place for it to be situated. If anybody were to wake up, they would not be greeted by all the riff-raff noise of the inner city, rather to the soothing noise of silence. It was surrounded by a dense population, not of industrial buildings that towered into the sky forever, but trees that were only so much bigger than the two-storey Center itself. That was where the group of teens decided to reside for the night. It would allow them as much sleep as needed, especially Dylbert, who had a contest in the morning. He needed all the energy he could muster, and staying awake all night would not help. He needed much more than just forty winks. Wait...

As everyone said their goodnights, sleep tights, and don't let the bed Wurmple bites, everyone soon slipped into dreamland.

* * *

Aaron soon woke up, however. A decent night's sleep was not to be, it seemed. Only an hour or so after he had fallen asleep, he woke up again. He just couldn't get comfortable tonight. It wasn't the beds, the beds were incredibly comfortable. They must have implemented that new magnet technology he had heard so much about on TV, because his back felt refreshingly... He couldn't describe it, but he felt better, even though that technology was made for humans... Either way, it hadn't anything to do with the bed.

He couldn't shake the feeling that it was a little too quiet for his liking. He hopped out of bed, taking his headband from the bedside table, unfolding it, and slipping it on, before leaving the room and heading downstairs. He decided to check around for anything suspicious.

He checked all downstairs, in the waiting room, the reception, all parts accessible to the general and uninjured public, but found nothing out of the ordinary. _May as well get a glass of water while I'm down here, _Aaron thought as he made for the kitchen. In the corner of his eye, however, as dark as it was and as weak as his vision was as a Pikachu, he saw a shadow outside, shifting about faintly. Obviously, he just had to see what was going on.

Immediately giving himself away, Aaron stepped through the automatic sliding doors which made a loud WHOOSH! as they slid closed again. He searched his surroundings, but nothing was there. Not a soul lurked, at least not here.

He continued around to the back of the Pokémon Center, but didn't find any signs of life. Except for a truck, which someone had probably attempted to conceal behind a thick bunch of trees in the near distance, but Aaron, of all Pokémon, could still see it. "I wonder what that truck is all about..." Aaron said to himself as he quietly strolled over to take a closer look.

Yet, he stopped suddenly when he heard footsteps coming loud and fast at him. He turned around to see the shadowy figure from before, rushing towards him, a small flicker of fire seemingly following him. As it drew closer, Aaron recognised it as a Charmeleon, the fire burning from its tail. There was no time to ponder, however, as the Charmeleon launched into the air, drew its claws back, then swung them straight down at Aaron! The bewildered Pikachu managed to jump back in time, but the lizard Pokémon's claws had still slashed at something...

Aaron landed on the ground before the Charmeleon, as he noticed his head suddenly felt lighter. His headband fell before him, torn in half by the foe's Slash attack. He could only stare at it; his headband, a gift from an old friend, torn apart right down the middle before his very eyes...

The Charmeleon realised what he had done, but showed no remorse. If anything, he was rather mirthful about it. Aaron, however, was feeling the exact opposite. "You... That headband was like a treasure to me, and yet you have the incentive to destroy it..."

His foe only smirked. "That's not the only thing that shall be... Destroyed..." The Charmeleon lifted up its left arm, exposing a silver device on the wrist. It looked bulgy and futuristic, and had a single hole at the front. This hole just so happened to be pointed at Aaron.

Before Aaron had time to comprehend what the device even was, the Charmeleon had already fired it. Aaron was quick enough to dodge, but once again, he was caught a little short; the blast had made contact with his right foot.

Yet, he felt no pain. A numbness like no other, but no real pain. Aaron fell to the ground, however, but immediately pulled himself up. As he went to attack the Charmeleon, however, he discovered his leg would not move. Try as he might, his leg was immobile and he wasn't going anywhere. "What's going on?" He asked, worriedly, as he stared down at his leg. It was no longer yellow, but a rather dull brown colour, and it looked as if it were made of stone...

"You're not going anywhere," The Charmeleon began, lowering the device for a minute. "So I may as well explain it to you. We Pokémon Hunters have been on the hunt of a Pikachu and his companions as he travels across Sinnoh, determined to bring Team Galactic to its knees. As such, here I find you, lurking around this little Pokémon Center, trying to find me out! I laugh at your impudence! Hahaha!"

"Not wrong about that," Aaron whispered to himself.

The Charmeleon simpered, raising the device again and pointing it at the Pikachu, who constantly struggled to move, even though his leg was too heavy in its state. "This device," Charmeleon continued, "is designed to turn anything it touches to stone, so that we may easily capture you and receive our horrendously large bounty!"

_Stone? _Aaron thought, now panicking. _I don't wanna be turned to stone!_

The Charmeleon steadied himself. "I'm sorry, Pikachu, but I have no real quarrel with you. It's all for the money, I'm afraid." With that, the device unleashed a beam straight at Aaron, striking him and making him glow, lighting up the surrounding area. As the glow faded, Aaron's body came into view, now fully immobile, fully encased in a layer of faded stone that was his own body. His face was frozen, a depiction of worry and panic etched onto it. He figured that he was still conscious as he could still hear, see and think. He struggled to move, but his body would not respond. He was well and truly a prisoner of his own body.

Two hands belonging to unknown bodies picked him up and carried him away. He had no idea where he was going, no idea how far away he was from his friends. For many minutes he travelled on the hands of Pokémon, until they stopped and placed him on a saucer-shaped device. The device formed glass around the immobile Pikachu. He heard one of the henchmen who carried him say "At least now we can turn him back to normal." So at least Aaron wasn't gonna be stuck like this. But what was in store for him? Where would he be taken? Would be sold off to a client for big bucks and be made a personal slave, or just thrown in a jail cell or a dungeon or something like that? Maybe even captured by means of a Poké Ball? Aaron didn't want to think about that; being another Pokémon's own Pokémon, having to follow every order they give without hesitation...

He didn't know what was going to happen, but one thing was for sure. For the first time in a long time, he had lost all confidence in himself. He was beginning to believe that this was where his journey ended. He didn't want to believe it, but at this rate he had no choice.

* * *

valeforXD: For those who are still a little sceptical about this, watch the episode of Pokémon _Mutiny in The Bounty! _and you will find out exactly what is going on. That's where I got the last part of the chapter from, and if you're confused just watch it.

Anyway, I quite enjoyed writing that chapter. I mean, it was weird and it served as a major plot device at the same time, which I am quite proud of. Please read and review, guys! I haven't had a reviewer in ages, at least not counting ChimcharRoxorzBoxorz, anyway. I need feedback, and you guys provide the feedback I need to make the story even better!

Aaron would comment, but he's sorta been turned to stone. I'm sorry if you were expecting a joke relating to illegal substances there, but I don't swing that way. Either way, he is unavailable for comment, at least until Chapter 19: Awakening!

(Also notice how I've used the proper é in Pokémon? Haha, just a nice little touch. Just thought I'd make the fic even more authentic. XD)


	19. Awakening

valeforXD: I have received some reviews from luxraylover100 who seems to be showing some interest in this fanfic. His/her review... Something along the lines of "If J turns a Luxray to stone, I'll throw him off a cliff" or something like that. Couldn't have put it better myself, although thank you for giving away the part about J, for those who are Pokemon-declined...

Whatever. That's beside the point. If nobody is going to protest against my plot choices, then let's get on with it!

********************************************************************Chapter 19

Charmeleon scampered along the featureless corridor as fast as his legs would carry him. For minutes he ran, until he slid to a stop when he came across a behemothic door (well, at least considering his size) that slid open automatically as he stood in front of it. A woman sat in a chair in the exact centre of the room, the back of the chair turned to him. Her grey hair was visible over the top of the chair. Many buttons and dials surrounded her, as many of what seemed to be minions worked tirelessly at them below her. She seemed to be staring out through the window before her, as the sun had begun to rise up over the mountains.

"Miss...!" Charmeleon panted, leaning against the door.

Not bothering to turn around, the woman just sat there as she replied, "What is it?"

"I... The Pikachu..." He was still trying to catch up to himself, breathing heavily and briskly. "The Pikachu has been captured... He has been detained in our base near Hearthome."

He couldn't see it, but Charmeleon knew the woman was smiling. "Excellent job. What about the others? What of them?"

Charmeleon had stopped panting now, and had calmed now. "They are yet to fall into our trap, but their capture is inevitable."

"These Pokemon are of our highest priority," The woman replied, staring out the window still. "I shall see to it myself that these Pokemon are delivered to our client. You, however, shall go down there and see to it that the others are captured. They may try to free the Pikachu if they find out what is going on."

Charmeleon nodded. "Understood, miss." And he ran out the behemothic door again.

The woman smiled again, lost in the rising sun again. Really, villains and antagonists have nothing better to do than to get their eyes burned out by the sun.

* * *

Dylbert's eyes shot open, the sun smacking them like a well timed Pound attack. Only hotter. He shot straight up in his bed, noticing everyone was still asleep.

His mind was having a blank, however. Something was happening today, something important to him. Due to still being half asleep, he had totally forgotten. Dylbert was always a few drumsticks short of a family bucket, especially when he had just woken from temporary slumber.

Then it hit him: the Wallace Cup! Wallace himself had gotten him a place in it the night before! Dylbert realised, he had to get ready! Looking at his sleeping friends, he realised they were going to have to be woken up a little prematurely.

"Hey, guys! Wake up!" Dylbert shouted. "We gotta go! I have an audience to amaze with my superior skills! w00t!!!"

Correction. Probably an empty bucket.

Nick was first to awaken. He sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes. "What, now? Dyl, it's like, 6:30."

Dylan soon followed suit, unsteadily standing up on all fours. "Superior? Uh, stop me if I'm wrong, but... You have no superior skills."

Dylbert grunted, but realised there were still two more team members to wake up. Luke, at the very least, was out to it, snoring like a tranquilized Snorlax, if tranquilizers make people snore, that is. Shouting was doing nothing, so Dylbert did the next best thing. He rushed out of the room and returned a minute or two later, holding a can of whipped cream in one hand and a feather in the other. He ran over to Luke, his arm limply hanging off the bed, providing the perfect opportunity.

Yeah, just forget the whole bucket analogy.

Dylbert sprayed some of the cream on Luke's hand, piling it up slowly, some of it falling to the floor. He put the can down when he figured it was tall enough and grabbed the feather. He slowly leaned in, making sure not to knock Luke, and swiped the feather quickly over Luke's face. Luke winced in his sleep, looking as if he was about to sneeze, then...

BLAM!

Luke's face was dripping with whipped cream as he sat up in his bed. There was whipped cream everywhere, on the wall, on the floor, all over the bed sheets... Luke was not impressed. "A thousand points for originality, Dyl," He sighed as he swiped the cream off his face, plopping it onto the floor.

Dylbert could do no more but laugh. Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Laugh hysterically, maniacally, to the point where you seem like a freak of nature, and they'll leave you alone. I guess that's why the others had left him to laugh like an ignoramus.

The laughing drowned out, however, when Luke announced a usual statement. "Hey, where'd Aaron go?"

Still licking off some of the whipped cream on his nose, he, Dylan and Nick looked over the bed in which Aaron had resided in last night. Nick was quick to point out that his headband was gone, too, looking up at the bedside table.

"Something happened last night," Luke asserted. "He wouldn't just leave and not return by morning."

"At least someone is making sense this morning," Nick replied, eyeing the worn out Chimchar, stressed from all the freakish laughing. "We should go look for him."

Agreeing immediately, the group of four searched the interior of the Pokemon Center, but found no sign of their rodent friend. Dylan was smart enough to ask Nurse Joy, a Chansey, for any leads.

"Of course," She replied from behind the front counter. "I believe your friend was outside wandering about. I saw him walk outside at about midnight."

Dylan cocked an eyebrow, or at least he would have if he had eyebrows. "What would that silly kid be doing out there?"

Nurse Joy shrugged. Dylan thanked her before leading the others outside.

After a few minutes of searching outside, Dylbert was starting to complain. "Man, I'm gonna be late for the contest if this keeps up."

Luke lowered his eyelids at him. "Aaron is our friend, perhaps a little bit more important than a Pokemon Contest, Dylbert."

The poor Chimchar sighed. "I guess you're right, Luke."

Digressing from the subject, Luke returned to the search when he noticed a torn item of clothing laying amongst the grass. Curious, Luke rushed over to investigate, but gasped when he noticed it was Aaron's headband, torn in half, streams of fabric disconnected from each other to give the effect of wear and tear. He shovelled it up into his ball-tipped hands. "Aaron would have been pretty upset over this," He said to himself as the others rushed to his side.

"Aaron's headband? That means he must be close!" Nick needlessly assumed.

Luke was still sceptical, however. "But we still don't have many leads as to where he went..." He sighed, searching the area for any more clues. He spotted a pick-up truck nearby, poorly concealed by a cluster of thick trees. A Machoke and a Hariyama leaned against the truck, inconspicuously chatting with one another. Luke rushed over to the trees and hid behind them, so as not to be noticed while he eavesdropped on the two fighting-type Pokemon.

"...Yeah... Apparently, that Pikachu was really easy to capture," The Machoke said, as Luke inched closer to hear them properly. The others had now followed suit, hiding behind the trees alongside the snoopy little Treecko.

"That new Charmeleon recruit was done with him in a matter of seconds!" The Hariyama replied, bulky arms crossed. "Looks like that little rodent isn't all he's cracked up to be, eh?"

_Surely they aren't talking about Aaron? _Luke inferred in his head. _They couldn't have captured him...?_

"Well, whatever," The Machoke shrugged. "Apparently that kid's worth a million Poke!" He laughed as he opened the truck door, laughing quite sinisterly. "That means big bucks for us!"

The Hariyama followed soon after, jumping into the passenger side. "I'm with ya! Let's get out of here and scab us some money!"

Luke quickly turned to the others, still keeping himself hidden from the thugs' view as they piled into the truck. "We have to follow them!" He suggested. "They must have captured Aaron!"

The others nodded, and they all proceeded to the back of the truck. Luke pulled open the doors and leaped in, and Dylan and Dylbert followed quickly. However, the truck had started to pull away from its stationary position, and Nick was forced to chase the truck, dashing along as fast as possible, making a huge leap for the truck. His little claws managed to grasp onto the back of the truck, and Luke grabbed onto his arm, heaving him up into the truck and to safety.

Nick lay on the ground, wheezing wearily. "I wasn't expecting that..." He huffed, not bothering to move.

Luke smiled. "Just think, we would have finally gotten rid of you!" He laughed, as did Dylan and Dylbert.

"Be a bit more appreciative!" Nick replied angrily, sitting up and holding his little pouch he had been carrying around for the journey. "I've been carrying this thing the whole time! I say..." He pulled the bag up over his shoulder and tossed it at Luke, having no concern for the contents inside. "You should carry it for a while."

Reluctantly, Luke slipped the pouch over his shoulder. "That's okay, Nick. I only pulled you onto the truck and prevented serious injury. Nothing to get excited about..."

From within the thick density of bushes, Charmeleon spied deceitfully, smiling as the oblivious Pokemon were driven to their capture.

"Everything is proceeding exactly as planned..."

* * *

A Machoke entered the large room where the grey-haired woman resided, holding a capsule-like object containing a Pikachu inside, their own technologies ensuring it had been turned to stone. "Miss J, we have the Pikachu!"

J, as the henchman had implied, finally spun her chair around, revealing her face. She looked to be in her early forties, perhaps a little younger, but her figure suggested otherwise. Her body was silhouetted like that of a much younger woman, perhaps a very fit woman in her early twenties. Her red lipstick gleamed in the room lighting, and she wore an odd accessory over her left eye, perhaps some sort of scanner to aid her in battle. She wore a skin-tight black leotard, but that was mostly covered up by a lengthy black jacket with red stripes down the sleeves. "What of the others?" She replied quickly.

"The new Charmeleon recruit has ensured that they are on their way here now," The Machoke explained.

He handed the Pikachu in the capsule to J, who then placed it on a pillar-shaped object next to her chair. "Have Cyrus contact me now," She said to one of her workers below her, who immediately punched in a few keys on a dashboard. A monitor appeared from the ceiling, slowly descending until J made eye level contact with it. It fizzled intensely, until it began to focus and display a man with blue hair, obviously Cyrus.

"You'll be happy to know that this Pikachu has been captured, Cyrus," J announced blandly.

Cyrus nodded. "Would I be happy that this has occurred, I would be considered just as inadequate as the rest of this world..."

Ignoring his lack of emotion, J proceeded with the bargain. "Where is our money, then?"

"You're not getting your money that easily," Cyrus snapped. "Ensure that the Pikachu is still alive, if you will."

Hesitating, J leaned over to the capsule that contained the immobile rodent, and pulled a small lever down partway.

Aaron felt his face slowly regaining softness. His vision was somewhat blurred, slowly becoming clear again. He felt stiff at first, but as seconds passed, his head regained mobility. He could move again! Or, at least, his head was able to move. The rest of his body was still immobile, so he was still captive.

"Oh, he is still alive... This is marvellous news..."

Aaron picked up a voice from the near distance. It sounded very familiar...

"Of course he is," A woman said, seeming to be beside him. "Our technology ensures that the captive are kept alive in their state of immobility. It is difficult to explain; even I know not how it works. Rest assured, you will get him alive." Whoever it was, he was unable to see her, as he was incapacitated, being unable to turn his head much further than a few degrees. His sight had returned to him, however, and directly in front of him was a monitor depicting a man with humbly familiar blue hair...

_Cyrus!_

"You...!" Aaron uttered, gritting his teeth at the Galactic boss. "What did you do to me?"

Eyeing the angered rodent now, who struggled to escape, Cyrus smirked, although it wasn't very obvious through Aaron's eyes. "I do assure you, this is not my doing. You are yet to be in my possession."

At that point Aaron stopped struggling. He could hear the voice beside him again, the voice of a middle-aged woman. "Oh, don't worry. You'll be with Cyrus soon enough... Now, where is my money, Cyrus?"

The blue-haired male clapped his hands together twice, and a Galactic grunt handed him a silver briefcase. He flipped the case open to reveal scores of green bills, huge piles of Poke.

The rodent teenager had realised what was happening. "You're... Selling me to him?"

J smirked, although Aaron was unable to see it. "We capture you, we deliver you to the client, we get money from the client. Simple."

That was it. Aaron was more or less some 'object' that could be traded away in exchange for sought-after currency. It was sickening to know that there were such people willing to sell away another living being unwillingly. Aaron wanted to do something, to retaliate against his captor, but it seemed hopeless. He could do nothing to fight back.

He was becoming angry, irrational, fuming with rage. His eyes were growing wide, his pupils becoming small and almost invisible to the naked eye. His teeth were gritting, his gums even being perceivable, his lengthy ears shooting straight up. Sparks flew intensely from his red cheeks.

The room lit up with a powerful surge of yellow, as the enraged Pikachu tried to break through the glass with his own electrical attacks. The electricity lit up the vicinity for several seconds, until he stopped, panting.

"What is he doing...?" Cyrus questioned, displeased.

J went to raise the switch at the base of the container, but she felt that it was unneeded. The poor thing would indubitably give up, realising that there was no way to break through the strengthened glass. More so, however, she just enjoyed watching him struggle helplessly.

But Aaron wasn't ready to give up yet. He had to break free! He unleashed another jolt of electricity that filled the container, and lit up the room powerfully again. He stopped. Then he started again. The pattern of electrical attacks continued for many minutes, until the Pikachu was consumed to the point where he had given up.

Cyrus sighed. "Please, be done with this already, J. I grow weary of this boy's foolish attempt at escape."

J, who had enjoyed watching the rodent suffer, realised he had stopped and wasn't going to light up the area again. She reached for the lever, but stopped when she heard intense breathing coming from the container.

Aaron was firmly propelling hot air through his little black nose, then sucking it in again just as strongly. His eyes... They were beginning to turn red, the pupils becoming nothing more than the tiniest of white specks, his gritting teeth showing signs of raw anger, intensifying by the second. Sparks were once again intensely flying from his cheeks, but they were not the usual shade of yellow, rather a shade of crackling blue.

"J, now! Do it!"

He could hear Cyrus through the monitor, but he paid him no attention. The sparks were growing dangerously large now, and his breathing could still be heard over the crackling electricity. J reached for the lever so as to fully immobilise him again, but the sparks had travelled into the base of the container, causing smoke to billow from it, and as she touched it she received such a jolt that it sent her toppling over her leathery chair.

The base of the container was starting to malfunction, as assumed by the fact that dials and lights on it were flashing madly. The lever that controlled Aaron's mobility virtually exploded, and as such Aaron's body began to soften, losing the rough texture of stone and replacing it with the semi-familiar feeling of soft fur. However Aaron didn't notice. He only articulated the fact that he was mobile again. He unleashed one final Thunderbolt, screaming madly as he did so, causing the glass containing him to shatter and evaporate before everyone's eyes.

People were running out of the facility, screaming, escaping for their dear lives. J, however, could only watch from behind her chair as the enraged Pikachu jumped down off the little pillar, sparks still flowing from his cheeks.

Cyrus was not worried, however, and as such he simply walked out of view of the monitor, which had soon been destroyed by a stray blast of electricity.

He fell down onto all fours, immediately eyeing J from behind the chair. Finally, he spoke for the first time since he had become filled with anger. "It was you who captured me!" He shouted, his voice filled with anger and dominance, a certain gruff element added to it. "Scum like you, capturing Pokemon and selling them to others for your own profit, do not deserve to live!" This sudden outburst caused him to unleash another Thunderbolt, the electricity quickly finding its way to the consoles down the bottom, causing small explosions.

Finally, however, the disillusioned mouse had realised the level of destruction he himself had caused. He examined the place... The sound of crackling electricity, not of his own, could be heard as it emitted out of all the electronic equipment around him. He had to get out... and fast. Not paying J any mind, he dashed for the door...

CRASH!!!

The door had collapsed before him; clearly he had fried that too. A pathway was still made out for him, so he leaped over the debris and continued down the hallway as hastily as he possibly could in his state.

* * *

Luke smashed the doors of the truck open with a single foot and proceeded to leap out, the others closely following behind. They realised that they had arrived at some sort of building, far out of town, it seemed – there was not a single other construction in site, at least visible over the thick and towering trees that surrounded this one. It was simply a building that was several storeys high, very basic in architectural design, save that it was a shimmering silver. Nothing really out of the ordinary, but considering events that had occurred over the past few days, in particular everyone turning into Pokemon, they didn't know what to think any more.

"We get in there, we find Aaron, we get out," Luke announced, assuming he was the self-proclaimed leader of the group. At this point in time, they weren't going to argue. They ran swiftly for the building...

...But stopped when they saw a Charmeleon in the road. They could see it contemplating over something. It was staring directly at the top floor, which was... on fire?

"No..."

Nick decided to ask. "Excuse me..." He began, but the Charmeleon did not directly respond to him.

"He has done it... The power inside of him has awakened... But at what cost?"

Nick couldn't help but to be perplexed at this little assumption. "Um, hello?" He waved his hand in front of the lizard's face.

Yet he still did not respond directly to him. "The Pikachu... He's not..."

Finally, Luke understood. "Do you mean Aaron?"

The Charmeleon finally responded to them. "Aaron? If that is what he is called... You are his companions?"

Luke nodded.

"Yes, he is up there, but I fear the worst. The lab upstairs has been virtually destroyed. As I escaped the place, I caught sight of a Pikachu loosely firing his electricity everywhere, but his sparks, they were not of normal colour. They were blue..."

"That can't be Aaron," The confused Treecko replied sceptically, scratching what used to be his chin area. "Unless... He has finally awakened the power within that Lugia described to us?" He gasped suddenly, edging forward to the Charmeleon. "How do you know about Aaron?"

"I am the one Lugia mentioned, the one who was sent to free Kyogre and restore peace to the sea."

Luke gasped again; if one were unintelligent, they would believe he had a bad case of the hiccups. "You? You were the one who was sent to rescue Kyogre?"

"Thanks, eagle eye," Dylan butted in.

"That is correct. And, only this morning have I completed my mission. Unfortunately it came with a few consequences... For starters, working as an undercover recruit meant that I had to kidnap the Pikachu and return it to Hunter J. If I did not, then my cover would be blown. It was the only choice I had."

Luke rejoiced mentally, as they had found Aaron's location at the very least. "That's understandable, I guess..."

"Only moments ago, as your friend literally, as you common folk say, 'blew up the place,' I ran for the area in which captives are held and freed Kyogre. And now, here I am, waiting for the Pikachu to emerge alive..."

Dylbert was prepared to answer his statement, but he deemed it unnecessary, as everyone could see the little yellow mouse emerge from the building. But there was something odd about him. For one, there was the faint blue halo-like light surrounding him. And his eyes... They were wide with anger, red as the depths of the Pokemon underworld.

Then he howled something, his scream piercing the morning air.

"YOU!!!" The Pikachu shouted, immediately gunning for Charmeleon. The lizard only stood and watch as the Pikachu tackled him to the ground, thrusting his tiny fist into his face. "You're the one who turned me to stone! You're the one who started all this!"

Luke, Dylbert and Nick rushed over to the angered rodent and attempted to pull him away, but he simply shrugged them off. "Get off me! I'm gonna kill him!"

"Aaron, stop!" Luke cried, reaching out for him but afraid to touch him, incase he was hurt as well. "You have to stop this!"

But Aaron kept on punching Charmeleon, throwing fist after fist at the hapless Pokemon. Charmeleon was too weak to overpower the enraged mouse, and as such he continued to receive a huge bashing.

By now, Luke had shed a tear from his eye. "Please, Aaron... Just stop..."

Still recklessly and blindly throwing punches, Aaron had taken in Luke's plea, the first words that he had taken in and considered since he had that outburst before. He began to slow down with the punches, until they became weak and soft, merely sliding off Charmeleon's face. His breathing slowed, and his teeth disappeared behind his lips. His eyes returned to being beady little black eyes, depicting his return to civilised reasoning. He knelt above the poor lizard, staring at his hands, a little bit of blood on them from where Charmeleon had suffered a blood nose. He slowly backed away onto the grass, staring at the hapless Pokemon he had just beaten up, and fell onto his hands and knees, tears pouring down his own cheeks. "Arceus, what have I done? Forgive me!"

Everyone stared at the sobbing little mouse, for only the second time in 24 hours, but this time his tears were not shed for those who he had loved, but for the damage he himself had caused. He finally realised what happened. The power inside of him... The one Lugia had mentioned... This was it? Every time this happened, every time he got angry, he would transform into an uncontrollable beast capable of destroying whole buildings?

He looked around him, tears still hanging from his eyes. His friends, the ones who had tried to restrain him from hurting anyone. The Charmeleon, his own hands brutally bashing into the poor lizard's face, leaving him with a back eye and blood stains under his nose. The building behind him, the top floor engulfed in flames, debris falling from it. If such outcomes were to be conceived every time this happened, then he did not want to keep the burden of doing it. It was for the greater good of the world, but if his friends were harmed in any way, then he would not be able to forgive himself.

He was alive, but still he had failed as a living being.

He eyed the Charmeleon again through his tear-ridden eyes, covered in bruises. He immediately knew what was going on. Charmeleon was the undercover Pokemon, aiming to rescue Kyogre, and to do so he had to capture him, which resulted in him receiving a brutal bashing.

"I..." He started, trying to form words in his mind. "I'm... So sorry... I didn't want to harm you like that..." He muttered in between sniffles.

Charmeleon wanted to be angry at the Pikachu. He wanted to retaliate, to give him a piece of his mind. Yet, Aaron was not the one who had really hurt him. "It was not your fault," Charmeleon replied as he slowly stood up. Aaron noticed he had a small limp about him, another thing he had caused. "I should be the one apologising."

Aaron looked up. "But..."

"That headband of yours, the one which I tore last night... I realise that you saw that as a personal treasure, and I blatantly took that away from you... I'm sorry, too."

"But, I hurt you! And yet, you're forgiving me!"

"These bruises shall heal with time," Charmeleon replied. "But, so long as you are still alive, even if I did receive a beating, I feel that my mission is complete. Kyogre is free, and you are free to continue on your journey to eradicate this world of Team Galactic." He turned his back to him and made for the path behind them. "I wish you luck, Aaron."

And thus he left, limping along the path through the wilderness. Aaron stood up, wiping away the last of his tears, and stared as he disappeared into the horizon.

He felt sick in the gut, thinking about having to use his power again, but Charmeleon had given him new hope. He had more or less sacrificed himself so that Aaron could continue to chase down Cyrus, and even if he had to travel around with the fact that he would become powerful and angry beyond reasonable doubt when something happened, he would continue.

His poor Pikachu, he remembered, was the reason he travelled across Sinnoh. He would have failed his poor Pokemon if he had given up. But it was too late to turn back now.

* * *

valeforXD: So, we've finally seen what this power can do... And how much of a crybaby Aaron really is... But, I quite enjoyed that chapter. Tell me what you think, is it a little harsh compared to previous chapters, or is it a welcome change? Please review!

And no, luxraylover100, there was no Luxray being turned to stone here. You may rejoice now. Also that Charmeleon got the boogers beaten out of him, so you can be happy about that. But I'm not killing him. Go to Hell.

Aaron: That's not a very nice way to talk to your fans...

valeforXD: You mean there's a nice way to talk to fans? GRRRR! Well I shall look into it before I write Chapter 20: Remarkable!


	20. Remarkable!

valeforXD: I apologise that this chapter is much later than usual. I've been busy with school work, I've been stuck on Chocobo's Dungeon, and all sorts of other stuff, but when I finally decide that I want to work on this chapter, OpenOffice poops itself and decides to render all characters within the document as #'s! Ticked off about that.

But, having said that, the original chapter was a little corny and boring, so I've revised it and changed it significantly. Try to enjoy this chapter, for me.

*****************************************************Chapter 20

"Whaddaya mean I'm too late?!"

The Lopunny stared down at the psyched little Chimchar from backstage, both looking angry at each other. "I'm sorry, but the preliminary acting competition has already ended, and you, Dylbert, were not present for it." The Lopunny then simply left, paying no attention to the annoying little monkey pleading for a chance.

Dylbert was shocked. "I've been gone for that long?" He questioned himself.

Aaron sighed, leaning against a wall nearest him. "No doubt it'll be my fault, then."

Dylbert spun around, a little ashamed. "No, Azz, it's not your fau-"

"Dylbert, face it. I got myself kidnapped, you guys came to rescue me, and now you've missed out on your chance to participate in one of the grandest contests in the whole of Sinnoh. If that's not enough to make you want to just go home and be done with me, then I don't know what is." The forlorn look of sorrow that spread across his face was proof enough that Aaron meant every questionable word he emitted from his mouth.

But Dylbert was keen not to give up on his friend yet. "Aaron, I already made a promise to you yesterday. Even though we have already been through a lot, I still promised to stick with you until the end!" He pronounced in the most mature and sophisticated matter-of-fact tone he could muster. "You have a duty to fulfil, Aaron, and you can't do it alone."

"But..." Aaron attempted to reply, but Dylbert immediately stopped him.

"Aaron, you have to snap out of it! You're the one with that power inside of you."

Aaron immediately butted in again, sharply and brutally. "I'm the one with the power inside of me that almost killed a lot of Pokemon!"

Dylbert didn't reply. He remembered the flames he had seen just this morning, seeping from the top of the Pokemon Hunter's building, and could only wonder what had happened in those very confinements. He would have been torn about that as well. As helpless as the situation was, though, still he continued to knock some sense into the shamed Pikachu. "You're the one who has to make the journey! You're more or less our leader, and when a leader becomes filled with sorrow and regret, how do you think the rest of the team is going to survive?" He hesitated for a moment, before placing a lanky hand on the distressed rodent's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Aaron. You were captured by Pokemon Hunters. They're the reason why I was late to the Wallace Cup. Not you."

Aaron looked up at the sympathetic Chimchar. "Even after all this, you still believe this isn't my fault, huh?"

"Not for one minute," Dylbert replied, shaking his head.

"Dylbert..." Aaron almost felt like crying again, but he had to protect his credibility. "It takes a true friend to say that."

Dylbert replied only in the form of a friendly smile. Aaron mustered a faint, weak simper himself, followed by an awkward silence. Aaron removed the lanky hand from his shoulder and turned away from everyone. "I... think I just need some time alone." And with that he trudged off, but this time he did not hang his head in sorrow, rather he kept it up. He was showing some progress towards being his normal, bubbly self.

Another long silence greeted them again. Everyone stared as the Pikachu disappeared behind the opaque sliding doors in front of them, at least somewhat happy for him.

The silence was soon broken, however, by an unnecessary comment from Nick. "You know, everything was perfectly fine until Dylan appeared yesterday."

The atmosphere changed from one of subtle happiness to one of sudden alarming, as Dylan eyed the crocodile Pokemon without belief. "Excuse me?"

"When you showed up, Aaron had a cry about his parents, then he got captured, blew a building up and considered our friendship, and this all happened after you arrived, so you have _obviously _done something to provoke him."

One of Dylan's few personality traits was that when someone bad-mouthed him, he would reply hastily in kind. He was easily aggravated, and should someone continue with their shenanigans against him, then he would get _mad. _

"So, what are you still doing here?" Nick demanded of him.

"I haven't done anything wrong, Nick!" Dylan replied, his muscles tensing up. "I don't know what makes you assume this, but if it's a joke then it's not funny!"

"Oh, I'm not joking," Nick replied, crossing his arms and sniggering a little at him. "I'm dead serious. Why are you still here? Maybe you should just go back to Team Galactic, _traitor."_

"_Traitor?" _Now Dylan was ticked. "I am no traitor! Team Galactic can go to Hell!"

"That's what you want us to believe! Then you can capture us when you get the chance!"

"What? No!" Dylan edged forward until the two were staring each other down, breathing on each other's faces. "You take that back RIGHT NOW!!!"

Luke was quick to step in and push the boys away from each other. "Guys! Stop the fighting! We all know that Dylan is not a traitor!"

Nick glared at the gecko impulsively. "You on his side, too?"

"What? No, no, no..." He shook his hands and started to back away from them. "I'm just saying that now isn't the time for fighting!"

But the two warring friends paid him no mind, as they stared each other down, seemingly releasing fumes from their noses. Nick began to insult him again; "I don't know why you're still here, traitor. You just want to stick with us until the end, and then when we are so close to our goal, then you get in our road and-"

But Dylan stopped him, slowly backing away for the door. "If you want me to leave so bad, then fine! I will!"

As Dylan had started for the door, Luke made a dash for him. "Dylan, wait!" But it was too late; the Mudkip had disappeared behind the sliding door, and Luke had failed to make it through the door before it closed, slamming straight into it. He slid down the door comically, finally resting on the cold hard floor before it.

* * *

It was about one o'clock in the afternoon now, and the town had never seemed so empty and devoid of life.

At least, that's how it felt to Aaron, as he sat blankly on an old park bench. The faith he had lost was slowly coming back to him. He still wasn't particularly proud of himself, but he was beginning to realise ... things. The things he was meant to protect. Sitting on that park bench, he watched the world around him, bird Pokemon soaring through the clear blue sky, their silhouettes shining in the beauteous sun. The few little Pokemon playing in the colourful playground near him, A cute little Teddiursa child, playing on a swing, shouting joyfully as his father Ursaring pushed him higher, higher, until he was seemingly flying with the birds of the vast sky.

"Higher, daddy, higher! The child shouted, a voice heartening to all those who heard him. "Push me higher!"\The Teddiursa child laughed as he soared back and forth, believing he was flying.

Aaron had heard this cry of joy, but it did not make him happy. It made him feel sick inside. "This is what I'd given up on..." He whispered to himself. He continued to watch the child on the swing, laughing along with his father; a bond that never would be vanquished.

Unless Aaron were to lose any more faith in himself. He felt sick to death of himself now. "Those poor..."

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden voice that seemed close. "Aaron? Is that you, sulking by yourself?"

The little yellow mouse looked up to see a snake-like figure standing before him, his face somewhat masked by the shadows caused by the sun. "That's not like you, is it?"

"Wallace? I..." Aaron looked sceptical, the Milotic towering above him. He had felt insignificant compared to his altitudinous figure, which slithered out of the sun's shadow to reveal his pleasantly calming features. "Wait... How do you know my name?"

"I would ask you the same thing, Aaron."

"Hm? What are you..." Aaron scratched the back of his neck; for once dandruff was not the cause, but plain confusion. "But you're famous! Everybody knows your name."

"As does everyone know you."

"Wait, what?" Aaron nearly fell backwards off the bench in total shock. "But how..."

"Word of mouth, of course! A lot of people have heard of you and your friends travelling around Sinnoh, chasing down the notorious Team Galactic and attempting to put a stop to their selfish actions. And I am one of these beings who has heard of your journey."

Aaron blushed, an expression not totally visible due to his red cheeks. "Well, that sure is kind of you, sir, but..."

The Pikachu slumped his head back down again. Wallace couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow curiously. "What's the matter?"

"I think I'm beginning to lose faith in myself, Wallace." Aaron sighed, for the eleventy billionth time that day. "I've let a lot of people down in the past few hours. You remember Dylbert?"

"Ah, the enigmatic little Chimchar, Dylbert. Yes, I remember him."

Aaron sniffled a little. It sounded like a forced snort, but he wasn't showing any tears, trying to repress any remorseful emotion inside of him. "I pretty much cost him a place in the contest. Last night, I got captured by Pokemon Hunters, and when he, and the others, came to rescue me, it was already too late for him to enter the contest."

Wallace looked almost as sorrowful as the Pikachu himself. "Oh, I see. But, surely, he has forgiven you?"

He sniffled again. "Well, yeah, but-"

"Then I do not see any complication! He has forgiven you, therefore all is well amongst you again!"

If only it were that simple, Aaron wanted to say, but he just couldn't say it. He remembered Dylbert promising to stick with him until the end, no matter what, but how could he let him uphold that promise? He had offered him nothing in return, and now he had taken away the opportunity to participate in the Wallace Cup.

"I feel a disturbance," Wallace began, cutting himself short so as not to make a corny and inappropriate Star Wars reference. "Perhaps this problem is greater than I assumed?"

"Far greater."

Wallace wanted to reply, but stopped when he heard the sound of footsteps in the soft dirt. Beth he and Aaron turned to see a Chimchar rushing along on all fours, looking worried. He stopped before them, panting lightly. "Oh, Aaron! And Wallace, too! What's going on here?"

"What's going on?" Aaron asked, a little chirpier than usual.

"It's Dylan..." He replied, taking a deep breath. "He and Nick had a fight just after you left. Nick said it's Dylan's fault for everything that happened. Ever since he showed up, he said, you've been acting different, and then Dylan got the poops and ran off. Luke and I are trying to find him."

Aaron rolled his eyes. "Oh, goodie. Another problem I've caused."

"That's not the truth, is it?" Dylbert asked quickly.

"No, of course not. It has nothing to do with Dylan. Or Nick, or any of you. It's all my own problem."

"This is what we have been discussing for the past few minutes," Wallace butted in. "Dylbert, if I may, you do forgive Aaron,, don't you?"

"For what?"

"He told me that you couldn't participate in my contest."

Dylbert laughed subtlely, scratching his belly. "He's still going on about that? I've already told him that it's not his fault that I missed out!"

For the first time, Aaron had actually considered what Dylbert had said. "So you're not mad at me?"

Dylbert shook his head, not saying a single word.

A shimmering light of hope suddenly manifested itself before Aaron's eyes, a hope which no one else could see. Suddenly, things were looking up. Why was he acting so mopey, when the whole time this is what his friends thought of him? Perhaps the whole time he was blinded by the rage that had built up inside of him, not realising exactly what they had said to him, not thinking it through. "I think it's about time that I stopped acting like such an idiot." Those were the words which portrayed his return to form. Finally, he was back to his old self!

"It's remarkable how quickly someone can change when someone comes along and tells them to stop being a crybaby," Dylbert simply said. He and Wallace smiled at the little mouse, happy that at least someone in their little entourage had reached some form of reasoning today. Now they just had to find Dylan, and everything would be back to normal.

* * *

valeforXD: I apologise for the longer than usual wait and the shorter than usual chapter. Unfortunately I have been very busy lately, being in Year 11 now really takes it out of you! Plus, I didn't have a lot to write about in this chapter. I had other plans for the chapter, which I had already written out, but then OpenOffice s**t itself and I had to start again.

Don't worry, though. Next chapter will have a bit more battling in it, and a little less moping and finding one's true self. I apologise.

Gee, I'm starting to sound like Aaron, aren't I? I'd better stop and get started on Chapter 21: Aaron VS Fantina!

Please read and review, too. I haven't had a review in ages.


	21. Why Insomnia is Good For You

Aaron: How are you all? No doubt you are all very annoyed due to the fact that valeforXD has not lived up to his reputation and hence not uploaded a chapter for some time. But! This time, he assures me that he has a good reason for delaying the fic. Studying for exams, possession of SoulSilver and hatred for crappy family PCs aside, he now has a baby brother! That is why he can't be here now: he's helping to look after him. As such, I am here to introduce the latest chapter of my story. Vale regrets that after the long wait, this chapter may not live up to expectations and as such it may disappoint, but! He promises that he shall update as soon as he gets some free time. Which may be more than usual, because his Wii is broken, so less time on SSBB. Poor guy...

Before we marvel at my mishaps, I shall address some of the reviews you guys have left:

luxraylover100: Vale apologises if he made you think that he wants you to go to Hell as that shall never be the case. Vale loves all his readers dearly, and would never say such cruel things about them and actually meaning it. What he meant is that he prefers the older Pokémon compared to the new ones (A dragon whose tail is on fire, or a desk fan? Charizard over Bronzor any day), so I apologise on his behalf. Either way, he thanks you for the positive reviews. Don't worry, there will be a Luxray. Eventually.

Fanfictionlover4444: Special mention has to go out to you for commenting that "there's not much more I can say except to keep writing!" The fact that you regard _The Mishaps and Marvels _as one of the main fics you check up on makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Much appreciated.

SpawnXD, DYLB3RT1993 and killerdude035 also deserve special mention because 1) They are Vale's friends and if I didn't mention them then they would slit my throat and rehabilitate me as a litter-picking device, and 2) They have no idea how to write their own fanfics so they need Vale to proof read and change things. Except killerdude035, but he has his own problem: The review you gave Vale, saying that there is something wrong with the line "But he said she said we have to, (Chapter 3?)" is totally illogical. This line translates to "But Aaron said Kyogre said we have to."

I can badmouth them as much as I want, because there is no doubt that they won't make it past Chapter 10. That, plus I am a non-existent character. But just in case they do, then I apologise. *chuckles*

killerdude035: Yeah, well, I wrote a story about pickles so I am better than you.

Aaron: Of course, pickles are much better than Vale's fanfic, aren't they? Hmm...

SamPD2: Vale would like to thank you for sticking with him thus far, and for the very long chat they have been having on this site since about January. He'd thank you personally, but he's too busy tending to his poop machine of a brother.

Okay, enough blabbering, I think it's about time we moved on to the story, huh?

************************************************************Chapter 21

Aaron would inevitably proceed for the Hearthome Gym no matter how heavy-hearted he had felt, and as such Dylan waited outside it. And where Aaron would go, Nick would surely follow. Surely enough, they weren't the best of friends now, but the exact opposite, regarding each other as enemies, even. He failed to see exactly what would have caused this argument, however. There were certain discrepancies between the facts and Nick's beliefs; perhaps he was disillusioned by seeing Aaron so upset, that he just wanted to blame it on someone and get it over with. That was certainly understandable, but on the other hand he was acting... _really stupid. Why would he think __such a thing of me?_

Only minutes later did the rest of the entourage appear from in the near distance, the only souls to occupy the empty streets devoid of contest fanatics. As they slowly trudged towards the gym, Dylan tried to remain calm and sedate; maybe he and Nick could talk it out? Maybe he had forgotten all about it by now? Maybe he was just playing around?

Pushing away from the others, a fierce look suddenly spreading across his face, the crocodile Pokémon marched towards him, the intense swinging of his arms exaggerating his anger. "You got some nerve waiting for us here, Dylan! Or should I say, _traitor!_"

Well, that idea had well and truly set sail. And by the looks of things, it wouldn't be returning to port any time soon.

"Look, Nick," He began, trying his best to stay calm. That wasn't the easiest of things for him to handle. "Surely we can talk about this? You're acting really weird all of a sudden."

"There's nothing to talk about!" Nick bellowed, swishing his arm before him. "I bet this is just an ambush, and you're the bait! You can't fool me!"

"Okay then smarty jaws, if I do have an ambush set up then why haven't they ambushed you yet?"

"Well, er..." Nick was stumped. "...I got nothin'."

"And exactly what events in the last few days link me to what has happened to Aaron?"

"I, uh..." Nick could only rub the back of his scaly neck.

"So, considering this, why did you suddenly outburst at me?"

Nick didn't even reply.

Maybe it was time for Aaron to step in, and proclaim the first positive thing he would have said for the first time in the past day or so. "I know you all care about me so much, and usually I'd chuckle at such a heart-warming comment, but you guys don't need to fight over me, okay?"

"This isn't about you any more, Aaron," Nick growled through gritted teeth.

"Okay then, I am officially confused. Please fill me in." He crossed his arms and waited for a response, tapping his foot in the dirt impatiently.

"Well, this (expletive deleted, surely enough everyone was surprised to hear a swear word come from a Pokémon's mouth) is working for Team Galactic, I'm sure of it! Despite the fact that I don't have any evidance to base this on, but that's-"

"Well I'll leave you two to bicker while I go and get me another badge, okay?" Aaron turned away and headed for the gym, and Luke and Dylbert followed suit soon afterward.

* * *

As they walked in, the huge concrete doors slammed shut behind them, enveloping them in darkness. Almost immediately had Aaron lost all sense of direction, his poor rodent vision not serving him well in this circumstance. "I can't see a thing!" He proclaimed blatantly, searching around frantically for a source of illumination, Dylbert's tailfire not even being visible. "Who hit the light switch, anyway?"

Nothing seemed to happen after Aaron had proclaimed his inability to see, so he did the only thing he could do, aside from wander aimlessly in the darkness. "Um... Hello? Is anybody there?"

No response, excluding for the sudden chill that went down his spine as an eerie ringing filled the air. As if the darkness were watching him...

He tried again. "Uh... a-anybody? I-Is anybody there?"

The same eerie echo greeted them, and Aaron began to shiver even more.

_Maybe I should try to get the Gym Leader's attention? _"My name is Aaron, and I challenge you to a gym battle!" He shouted fearlessly.

Slowly the darkness that embraced them so densely dissolved into a sudden burst of white light, a spotlight that shone directly down on a Mismagius, hovering calmly in the air, its wicked smile sending another chill down Aaron's spine.

"Welcome to my gym, challenger!" The Mismagius spoke in a thick French accent, not moving from her position . "My name is Fantina, and I am ze leader of ze Hearthome Gym!"

All fear had left Aaron now, a sudden determination causing a smug smirk to appear on his muzzle. "Finally! I need a good battle to smack all the regret out of my system!"

Fantina slowly hovered down from her invisible perch, cackling lightly. "Oh, my dear boy, if that is what you wish! Hahaha!" With that, all the lights snapped on, illuminating the area to the point where everyone had to shield their eyes, the sudden brightness piercing their vision and blinding them temporarily. As Aaron slowly opened his beady eyes again, Fantina was already positioned at the other end of the arena. "I accept your challenge! May you prove to be a worthy adversary!"

That smirk on Aaron's muzzle grew even wider, the widest I had been for some time. "All right! Let's do this!"

"But, I must stress..." Fantina suddenly interrupted, causing Aaron's chirpiness to slip away from him. "Ze rules associated with gym battles are now somewhat different."

Aaron perked up, his ears suddenly flinging erect.

"So as not to cause serious injury to our new bodies by placing them in direct combat with one another," She began, her tone lowered considerably, "ze battle no longer lasts until the opponent has fainted. Ze gym leaders must now recognise true skill within the challenger in order for them to obtain a gym badge. Power alone will now get you nowhere."

Aaron was somewhat sceptical at this. Perhaps these new rules were for the best, if it were to prevent serious injury. He remembered the injuries he had received from the previous gym battle with Roark, the Cranidos, who had managed to claw his way into Aaron's flesh, and leave a gaping wound. "I guess it'll have to do, then," He replied in repose. "A little disappointing, but I guess if our safety is at stake..."

"Then without further adieu, we shall begin! Are you ready?"

As Aaron was about to reply, the doors once again opened from behind, and in walked two figures; a small alligator figure, and a four-legged creature. Their silhouetted disguises made it hard to tell exactly who it was, but Aaron knew almost immediately that Nick and Dylan had trudged through. Aaron was led to believe that they had talked things over, and were willing to start their friendship anew. He had been played, however, when he saw that the two stood a considerable distance from each other, at least two metres, trying not to eye each other.

Nick was quick to back Aaron's unannounced claim up. "We have not made up!" He affirmed loud and clear. "We have just come in here to show our support for Aaron. Okay? Don't think _for one second _that we've put all this behind us!"

"Speak for yourself, moron. I've found it in my heart to forgive you, but you still wanna carry on like a child!" Dylan protested.

Nick simply snorted through his snout, and turned his back, heading towards the seats along the side of the arena. He quickly seated himself alongside Dylbert, who had sat patiently this whole time alongside Luke. "So, how have you been, Dylbert?" He said, as if nothing had just happened.

Dylbert paid him no mind, and averted his attention to Aaron, who had been posed in a stance readied for battle. "If we could possibly, y'know, get on with the battle?"

The Mismagius gave off a small, barely audible titter. "Perhaps, yes." She shifted forward ever so slightly, signalling that she was ready for battle. "When you are ready, challenger, you may begin the battle!" As she finished the sentence, she let out another silent cackle, one that was unnerving to Aaron.

"Well, if it's a fight you want..." Aaron immediately fell to all fours and gritted his sharp teeth, and with one quick leap he was charging straight for the witch-like ghost, his tail beginning to illuminate. As he drew near, he leaped into the air, and swung his lit-up tail towards Fantina. Only a second later did he land, but he had not felt his tail make solid contact with his opponent! He quickly spun around to see where he had planned to strike her was a void of empty space; somehow, she had disappeared!

"What the...?"

A sudden eerie echo was heard behind him; he spun around again to see Fantina had reappeared, and almost as soon as he had caught a glimpse of her, she had rammed him forcefully, sending him into the air, landing on the soft dirt with a thud.

The others were amazed at such abilities, although they expected nothing less of a Ghost-type, let alone the leader of a gym. "How on Earth is Aaron going to even land a hit on her?" Dylan questioned.

Aaron shakily stood up. He had to think of something... But what? Fantina was already charging for him again; he had to act fast!

Fantina was steadily charging towards him, but Aaron was quick enough to leap into the air and dodge the admittedly rather basic attack, landing less than a second later. Fantina halted herself, spun around, and snarled, if a ghost Pokémon with a zigzaggy purple mouth could snarl. "Hmm... I can't have you being so agile. I shall have to... slow you down a little..." She let out a little cackle before evaporating into the air again. Aaron was once again dumbfounded, searching frantically for his opponent.

Then, she appeared before his eyes, her face inches away from his.

Aaron almost jumped, but his sudden sense of shock slowly disappeared as he began to feel drowsy. Fantina's eyes were glowing, the soft purple glow sifting into his eyes, making him feel tired and slumberous. Fantina must have been using Hypnosis!

The others watched as Aaron swayed from side to side, seemingly ready to collapse at any second now. Yet Aaron was thinking a totally different thought; while he felt somewhat lulled, he was still awake, and it seemed he was staying awake. The Hypnosis was failing! He could feel that Fantina was still using Hypnosis on him, so she mustn't have been aware. An imaginary light bulb appeared above Aaron's head. He had just the thing!

Dylbert gasped as the Pikachu fell to the ground with a small thud, eyes loosely shut, snoring all the while.

"Calm down, Dylbert," Luke replied calmly. "I've seen this before."

"Seen him fall asleep? We all have, and it's not the prettiest of sights."

Luke slapped his forehead. "No, not that. Just watch."

Sceptical, Dylbert looked toward the battle again, to find that Aaron still was passed out. Fantina was now concentrating on a new move: her eyes were once again glowing purple, but this time Aaron was enveloped in a halo of purple, and slowly being lifted into the air through what seemed to be telekinesis, or psychic power.

Fantina chuckled once more, still concentrating on keeping Aaron hovering in the air. "You show true determination, challenger, but determination is not enough! She exclaimed. "You lack ze skill and finesse that the best Pokémon trainers once had! You have lost your spark!"

What an odd little pun to pronounce, Aaron wondered, as his eyes shot open. Fantina could only gasp.

"Sure doesn't look that way!"

The battlefield lit up an intense yellow as Aaron unleashed a volley of electricity from himself, zapping fantina senseless in the process. She lost her focus on the Confusion attack, and Aaron plummeted towards the ground, landing all fours. Fantina landed directly in front of him, sparks still trailing her body.

Aaron had decided, however, that a simple Iron Tail would not suffice in this situation. He would have to use another attack, perhaps a Ground type...?

He immediately began clawing at the soft dirt of the arena, his arms digging away at an amazingly fast pace. His arms were almost invisible! In just a few seconds he had formed a small hole in the ground, big enough for him to fit in at least. Hesitating, he jumped in, and quickly clawed through the soil underground. His instincts alerted him to the position of the fallen Fantina above him, as if he were psychic himself.

Above ground, all was silent and calm, Fantina slowly opening her eyes and beginning to realise what had happened. She was barely hurt, just partially zonked out. As she came to, though, the ground erupted under her, fragments of earth flying before her eyes, and a dirt-covered Pikachu slammed into her from underground, once again sending her airborne. She landed on the ground with a rather disturbing CRACK! as Aaron landed beside her, spitting dirt out of his mouth. Perhaps he hadn't quite perfected Dig, but it was a start.

Fantina slowly brought herself back upright, seeing the dirty mouse standing strong, sweating a little, but ready to continue. She, however, was not. "That is enough," she spoke calmly.

Aaron eased himself upright. "You mean...?"

"Oh, oui oui!" She exclaimed suddenly. "I admit that I doubted you, but you have shown a sort of skill that I have never seen before! My Hypnosis attack failed to lull you to sleep, yet you acted as if it had succeeded! I am impressed!"

Aaron grinned childishly.

* * *

The Relic Badge that Aaron held in his furry little hands gleamed heavily in the setting sun. Proof of another proud achievement for Aaron. At least this time it didn't involve violently enveloping the Pokémon Hunter building in electricity and, well, blowing it up. This was a proud achievement. Surely enough, the little rodent couldn't stop grinning as he examined the gym badge Fantina had given him.

The team were now on their way back to the Pokémon Center, seeking a well-deserved rest after today's obtuse turn of events. The city was once again crawling with populace as they wearily trudged through, although the street performers that graced the streets the previous night were long gone. It seemed the contest was over, and so were Dylbert's hopes of participating in the Wallace Cup for another year now. Yet he also wore a malicious grin. He felt that he was not ready just yet. The day prior to the contest, he had done little training and preperation for the contest – it hadn't helped that Aaron was kidnapped, but that couldn't be helped. He had argued that Aaron shouldn't have wandered outside in the first place, but Luke immediately digressed; "If Aaron hadn't decided to go outside the center in the first place, would the story be interesting enough for people to read?" He laughed, but Aaron immediately sighed, his attempts to make contact with these supposed 'readers' becoming rather tedious.

Nick was still suspicious towards Dylan, although only Arceus knew why anymore. The two stayed a considerable distance from eachother, but while Nick was still bitter with anger, Dylan was quite cheerful for a change. "So, how exactly did you think of that strategy so quickly, Aaron?" He asked, as they wandered past the Smeargle they had seen yesterday, packing many canvasses and tins of paint into a box.

"Strategy?" Aaron quizzed. "What do you mean?"

"When you tricked Fantina into believing you were asleep, and then striking when she least expected it! I thought it was brilliant!"

The Pikachu blushed, his red cheeks hiding most of it. "Pfft! Oh, that! It was nothing, really." he laughed heartily. "You should thank Nick, once again, for that little trick!"

Nick groaned and moved to the back of the group, hiding his shame.

"It was about two years ago, when for an exam we had to use Pokémon that the school had provided. Nick had ended up with a Poliwhirl, and I had gotten a Vigoroth, and when Poliwhirl used Hypnosis, it had failed, but Vigoroth had pretended to be asleep. I could see it in his eyes, they were too tightly shut to be relaxing as if you were asleep, which clearly Nick _didn't see..._"

"Oh, ha ha, funny." Nick turned away stubbornly.

"Well, I just used Vigoroth's trickery and applied it to my gym battle. Genius, no?"

"No."

"Nick, be quiet."

* * *

valeforXD: And that, folks, is the result of my english teacher milking the absolute shitake out of the whole concept of "change." Hah, how I grow weary of english teachers' crazy concepts.

But, once again, I apologise for being so late in updating this time. I've got a baby brother now, I've just had exams, and I have been immersed in the miracle that is _Pokémon SoulSilver. _I'm typing this on my day off from exams, and while my brother is asleep, and while I am not training up my epic party led by the Acid Armor blessed Vaporeon. It, like, never dies. It is the sole reason why Lance is no longer Champion. Not even my Raichu is that good.

Wow, listen to me ramble on about SS. That's how much I love it!

But, anyway, please note that I have not put this story on hiatus. I will _never _put this story on hiatus. It will always be updated, no matter how long it takes! Well, let's just hope that I stay true to my promise. We'll find out when I post Chapter 22: I is Clairvoyant! (I know, stupid name, but it'll all make sense in time)


	22. I Is Clairvoyant lol

valeforXD: Okay, I have started writing the fanfic a bit more often now. It seems video games are a little boring lately – FFXIII wasn't all it was cracked up to be, it seems, although still good – so I have a little more free time on my hands to do this. In fact, to the point where I am typing this one even before I have uploaded Chapter 21! Heh heh heh.

Ah well. My life works in mysterious ways, I guess. Let's just get on with it.

************************************************** *****Chapter 22

That night, Aaron opted to stay within the confined walls of the Pokémon Center, rather than risk getting captured by a Pokémon hunter again – even if last time, it was supposed to happen. But, either way, he had no need to venture to the kitchen for a glass of water, nor did he need a toilet break, although that would never happen considering he had no way to expel any form of... Bah. Why are we even discussing how Pokémon do their business? You'd much rather read about him kicking some Team Galactic butt, wouldn't you?

Thought so.

Anyway, after an uneventful morning and a light breakfast, the entourage of Pokémon were once again on the road, through the marshland that separated Hearthome and Pastoria. The only thing that was even remotely interesting, and that term is used lightly, is the sudden change in weather; one minute it was stinking hot, the next it was incredibly windy and cold. Nobody could make sense of the unusual weather.

But, not a lot happened that day. They just travelled along the road towards Pastoria City, with no real exciting narrative point to discuss. However, after many hours of waddling along through the marshland, the sun was beginning to set, and everyone was growing tired. Of course, having almost no equipment adequate enough to camp outside, they were stumped.

"Oh, this is just brilliant," Luke sighed, hanging his head wearily. "Where in Sinnoh do we sleep tonight, huh?"

Nick was going to suggest something, but Dylan immediately interrupted him, in turn making Nick angry. "I've seen this place before..."

He sniffed the air and eyed his surroundings carefully, as if looking for something. "And I recognise that smell, too..." After another long whiff of the air, he began to run off the main path. "Follow me!"

Without hesitation, Luke and the others followed him, as he rushed through the moist bushes and shrubs that littered the side of the road. Dylan quickly cut through, but the others, it seemed, were having trouble. Especially Dylbert.

"A little help over here?"

Luke looked behind to see the chimp Pokémon somehow entangled in a sea of vines, loosely hanging from a tree. He struggled to break free of the vines' grasp. Luke was hesitant to act, but leaped up onto the tree's branch swiftly, loosening the vines hanging from it, and causing Dylbert to fall to the ground.

"Much appreciated," He muttered, sticking his thumb up.

Dylan waited patiently on the other side of the densely forested area, barely breaking a sweat. Luke was the first to emerge, panting heavily as he collapsed to the ground. Aaron was next, also expelling breaths at a much faster rate. Dylbert and Nick followed closely behind, just as tuckered out, Dylbert even having a few scrapes and bruises littered all over his body.

"Okay, Dylan, seriously! What the heck was that all about?" Aaron shouted, his booming voice drowned out by the melodic chirping of crickets.

Dylan shrugged. "What? I was just leading you to my grandmother's house." He replied. "Mellow out, man!"

"Your grandmother-" He stopped abruptly to spit a blade of grass out of his mouth, followed by a long stream of saliva that dangled from his lips. Everyone watched, and Dylan winced, as he spat it out. "I think that more than exaggerates my point," He continued as the last of the vile liquid fell from his mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why does your grandmother live all the way out here in the marshland?" Aaron replied as loudly as possible, the crickets' chirps deafening to the ear.

"I never thought of that..." Dylan pondered for a few seconds, but finally gave up. "I don't know. We'll have to ask her."

He signalled, with a nod of the head to follow him again. This time around, the journey was considerably smoother, being a simple gravel path through another area where old, burnt down trees littered themselves across a fog enveloped in a thick fog. The leafless trees and the fog-covered marsh suggested, to Dylbert at least, that this was the contemporary setting of a terribly cliché horror film, or to a lesser extent, a Scooby-Doo episode that he had seen once. Either way, it made him shiver tensely, his teeth chattering together as the air swiftly turned cold and breezy.

He felt that something was missing, though. Something every underrated horror film or Halloween special has done and dusted before. He prayed to Arceus that he didn't see it.

It seemed his prayer didn't make it through.

Before him, at the edge of the swampland, stood tall an old and creaky mansion, overridden with vines that swerved along its dull grey walls of mahogany. The curtains belying the stain-ridden windows flung open suddenly, and a pair of glowing yellow eyes, seemingly attached to no body, stared eerily through them.

Dylbert instinctively flung himself behind Aaron. "Please tell me this isn't what I think it is!" He shouted, almost crying.

"Oh, stop your crying, Dylbert," Aaron groaned. "It's just a spooky looking mansion located in the middle of a foggy swamp. That's nothing to be afraid about!" He muttered something under his breath, something a little rude for this fic.

The front door creaked open suddenly, and Dylbert crouched behind Aaron even further, Aaron's lightning bolt tail slapping him in the face as it waddled nervously. Their fears disappeared when they saw a Clefable step through the door, a generous smile on its face, its arms outstretched to support the weight of a tray of cookies.

"Everybody, meed my grandmother Wendy." Dylan introduced.

"Why, Dylan! It's you!" The Clefable exclaimed, its voice resembling an old and feeble woman, although the body, lacking any real physical inability, suggested otherwise. Wendy's arms wobbled ever so slightly, causing the tray, and the cookies on it, to wobble and make an inaudible clang. "I never thought I'd see you out here!" She gasped. "And these must be your friends! I've heard so much about you! Please, do come in!"

Luke was a little confused. "How did she know it was you, Dylan?" He asked sceptically. "I mean, you're a Mudkip now, so..."

Dylan sighed. "She's fully blind," he replied hesitantly.

"So, how does she, y'know, do anything?" He continued to question Dylan, so far nothing making sense, as they trudged towards the old mansion.

"Well, my cousin Brittany stays and helps her out. Grandpa died years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that..."

The Mudkip managed a frail smile. "Well, he did lead a very enriching eighty-six years. At one point he served in the army. He and his Blastoise were an unstoppable force! But then he simply succumbed to old age, I guess, and so did his Blastoise. My grandma had nobody to look after her, so Brittany and her mother, my aunt, came to live with her. Shortly after, Brittany's mum passed away due to illness, so Brittany lives here with grandma now." He caught a quick glimpse of his grandma before she slowly turned around – bumping the tray of cookies against the cracked wooden door frame – and walked inside. "They've led a happy life though, so it's not all bad."

Luke could only display his own frail smile. "Well, that's good, then." He didn't know what else to say.

"Let's just go in. I'm freezing out here."

* * *

Everyone sat at a table that extended lengthways at least ten feet, covered in a simple white cloth, with an ornamented set of candles in the middle. Dylan, Aaron and Luke made up one side, while Nick, Dylbert and Wendy made up the other side, but at one end of the table hovered a Shuppet.

"The name's Brittany," She announced as she hovered towards the table, being seated (if that was possible) closest to Aaron and Nick. "What's yours?"

"Well, my name's Nick. I'm the loveable scamp of the group. Over there's Aaron, who's destined to save the world, or something. The Chimchar who seems to be wetting himself is Dylbert, Luke's the Treecko who thinks he's too sexy for a shirt..." he turned to Dylan on the other side of the table. "...No doubt you already know Dylan, the Mudkip. He's a trai-" he stopped himself short, a sudden realisation hitting him like a brick. "-a true friend! Yes, a really good friend!"

Dylan gave him a sour look, and groaned quietly, before turning to Wendy. "So, grandma, have I missed anything exciting lately? Did ya think of amazing new recipes for new cookies, or something?"

"The biscuits are good enough as they are!" Aaron exclaimed through a mouthful of hazelnut choc chip cookies. He leaned over to help himself to some more from a silver platter.

"Well, I _see_ somebody likes my biscuits!" Wendy joked, followed by a gentle little chuckle. "But, it's been pretty fun around here, hasn't it, Brittany?"

Brittany sighed loudly. "Well, if you see fun as having no arms or legs, whilst having to watch you cook your damn biscuits all day, which I'm surprised you can do seeing as you're blind, well then yeah, it's great fun around here!"

But Wendy gave off another gentle laugh. "Oh, Brittany..." She toned her voice down and leaned forward a little. "She's just a little stirred up because she's hit puberty. Don't pay her any mind, now, y'hear?"

"I dunno, I think it's kinda cute..." Luke hopped across the table and landed squarely on his behind, right in front of the angry Shuppet. "Y'know, I always did like limbless chicks... What's say me and you get a little further... acquainted?"

Brittany grunted, as Luke was enveloped in an ominous halo of purple, slowly rising up into the air. "Hey, what the..." He squealed as he was lifted higher and higher until his split head had bumped the ceiling above, at least ten feet above them. Luke was now flailing as wildly as an enraged toddler. "Hey, put me down this instant! When I get down, I swear I'll..." But before he could finish, the purple halo around him evaporated, leaving him scrambling for a non-existent ledge, as he plummeted to the table below. Brittany laughed as he landed on the old mahogany table with a disturbing CRACK!

As Brittany settled down, she finally said; "Sorry, but midgets aren't really my type."

Luke gasped blatantly. "So it wasn't just the Happiny... Damnit! I used to be tall!" He slumped his head into his hands. "I used to have all the women! Now I'm a two foot tall freak!"

"I'm sure you'll find your true love next chapter in the form of a Squirtle," Dylan spoke quickly to move the conversation along. "Now, I'm tired! How 'bout we turn in for the night?"

A minute later, Aaron, Luke and Dylbert had followed Wendy and Brittany towards the guest bedrooms, but Dylan stood in the way of Nick. He began through gritted teeth and a low voice; "Look, you are really pushin' the point, buddy. Now I suggest you just be quiet about whatever crazy idea you got goin' in that thick skull of yours, or you'll be sleepin' with the Swampert outside! Got it?"

Nick nodded.

Dylan unclenched his teeth and cried cheerfully; "Good! Just follow Brittany to the guest rooms. I'll see you in the morning!"

* * *

Aaron had found himself floating in a black void once again, for the first time in quite a while. Perhaps Kyogre was back, and able to telepathically communicate with him once again? Not since the beginning of the journey had the two been able to converse, but now that she was free again, it could be her.

His hypothesis had proven right: a yellow set of eyes, outlined by a glow of red, greeted him in the endless black. "It's so very good to see you again, Aaron," she said.

"You too!" Aaron exclaimed. "I see Charmeleon managed to rescue you from J?"

"And did a very good job of keeping undercover, too," Kyogre was quick to point out. "I heard he had you well and truly played!"

"Oh yeah, how he captured me and stuff... That was not the most pleasant experience I've ever had." Aaron paused to think for a second. "Oh, Kyogre, I have to ask you something!"

"Anything, Aaron," Kyogre replied curiously.

"I met Lugia in Eterna City, and he told me about this 'power' I have within me, the power I'm supposed to use to get rid of Cyrus. I mean, well, that's all well and fine and stuff, but... Why didn't you just tell me in the first place about this... This..."

Kyogre interrupted unexpected;y. "The Annulment?"

"Yeah, the... Annulment?"

"That is what it is known as. Annulment, because to annul is to disintegrate, to make disappear. It has been handed down through generations to certain beings, and is granted from Arceus itself."

"Arceus? The Pokémon... God?" That shocked the poor rodent right out of his metaphoric socks. To be in possession of a power granted by the Pokémon God! "Wow... That's amazing!" He suddenly shook his head vigorously. "Wait, I'm getting sidetracked. I wanted to know why you didn't tell me about this Annulment?"

Kyogre hesitated only briefly before she continued to explain. "What we legendaries ask of you is a huge task. Having told you at the beginning of your journey, would you still have gone?"

Aaron laughed, the slightest bit offended by Kyogre's statement. "Are you kidding? Of course I would have! Not a thing in the world would have stopped me!"

"Even considering that when the deed is done, you will..."

But Aaron stopped her impatiently. "Kyogre, my Pikachu, my best friend, is out there at the moment, and I have to find him! I don't care about the consequences, so long as Pikachu is safe!"

Kyogre suddenly let loose a long breath, and laughed herself. It was a particularly long laugh, one that Aaron sat through with the utmost scepticism. "Arceus was most wise in choosing you, for you are incredibly brave."

The Pikachu blushed, although his red cheeks disguised it. "Oh, if any of them were in my position, I'm sure they'd do just the same thing! All my friends are just as brave."

* * *

From beneath the thin sheets Dylbert arose abruptly. It was strangely dark outside, the only source of light being the full moon that hung in the far away reaches of space. Throwing the sheets off, he heard the sound that had made his little horror experience complete; the wailing of what he thought to be a ghost.

Shaking viciously, he leaped out of bed. His tailfire started up as he did, dimly illuminating the room in which he slept, a large guest room decorated scarcely with ageing furniture, covered in dust and mould. There didn't seem to be anything out of place; Dylan and Luke were nicely curled up upon one bed, and Aaron and Nick on another. There weren't enough beds for everyone to sleep separately, and a quick game of rock paper scissors decided that Dylbert would get the remaining guest bed to himself, much to the other's disgust and anger.

But, still, nothing was remotely out of place, and Dylbert passed it off as the wind slamming against the creaky old windows. As he was about to climb back into bed, however, he heard the wailing again; this time, he was sure it wasn't coming from the window. The wailing, a high pitched squeal that sent shivers down his spine, echoed endlessly, until it suddenly ceased...

Then, as Dylbert's teeth were chattering again...

"Kekekekekekekekeke..."

Dylbert leaped two feet into the air as he saw his bed, surrounded by a purple aura, lift into the air by itself! But it didn't stop there. The bedside table followed suit, hovering in the air with seemingly no physical support. He staggered back as the old dusty mirror in the corner lifted into the air as well, and along with the other furniture, began to close in on him...

* * *

"They most certainly are. You do have a good choice in friends, Aaron. Any of them could have easily taken on this task if they were chosen. Their bravery would lead them to their destination."

* * *

"Luke! Luke!" Dylbert shouted, shaking Luke as hard as possible in his foetal position. "Luke, the furniture is chasing me!" He turned around and stared at the furniture that hovered in the air, slowly closing in on him, as Luke stirred.

"...No, I'm not jealous... nnrgh... Mt. Rushmore... ugh... Crimson Viper..."

_Damnit, he's having a Street Fighter fantasy again! _"Luke, you gotta get up!"

Luke opened his eyes, surprised to see Dylbert breathing heavily on his face. He stinked of sweat, which alerted him that he was scared of something. Of course, that's how he usually was. "Bloomin' raspberries, Dyl, if you wanna shove whipped cream in my face again, I'd be happy to do it, but can we wait until we're at the dinner table?"

He rolled over, and Dylbert began to panic. "No, Luke, look! The furniture! It's hovering!"

Luke hesitantly rolled over again. "Yeah, well so does hover cat..." He immediately went bug-eyed when he saw a king size bed, bedside table and mirror towering over them.

* * *

Kyogre continued to ramble comfortingly. "I wouldn't be surprised if they are out fighting Team Galactic right now!"

* * *

Dylbert, Dylan, Luke and Nick charged out of the guest bedroom, now being followed by, well, pretty much the bedroom itself. All three beds closely drafted behind, followed by a mirror and several chest drawers and bedside tables, and several lamps, their power cords following along like a wobbly tail in the wind. As they ran past the kitchen, the refrigerator was more than happy to oblige to a late night chase, and apparently, so was the toaster oven and blender. An old couch soon was tagging along, as they chased the Pokémon around the house, refusing to give in.

Dylbert, amongst many heavy pants, commented unnecessarily; "I told you this house was haunted!"

"Just shut up and run!" Nick replied.

After another minute of tireless running, everyone screeched to a halt as they saw grandmother Wendy standing outside her bedroom. The furniture crashed to the floor behind them, losing their ominous glow of purple.

"What on Earth are you all screaming about?" She asked, clam as always.

"Well, the furniture... It was... floating, and... we were running from it... and... the toaster oven was still making toast!"

Luke decided to make light fun of the situation. "THE HORROR!"

But Wendy only grumbled a bit, before shouting out in a voice that, quite possibly, boomed across all the Great Marsh; "BRITTANY!"

As if commanded to, the furniture picked itself up again and hovered away quietly, returning to their respectful positions in the house. A Shuppet was soon to take the hulking pile's place as it materialised from nowhere. "Yes, grandma?"

* * *

"Yeah, Kyogre, I think you're exaggerating just a little bit," Aaron quickly replied.

"Yes, perhaps I am going a bit too far?"

Aaron laughed, having actually believed momentarily that his friends could be 'brave.'

"Well, it was nice to be in contact with you after so long, Aaron," Kyogre said calmly. "Remember, the blood in your veins calls out to you. You must answer it! You will take down Cyrus, I'm sure! If we can help in any way, then don't hesitate to ask when we next meet."

"Thank you, Kyogre."

And with that, the yellow eyes that were before him disappeared into the darkness, and Aaron slipped off into another dream.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Aaron said as he and his group of supposedly brave friends set off through the sunnier part of the marsh. "You were all chased by floating furniture?"

"Yeah," Dylbert replied bitterly.

"And it was just Brittany all along?"

"Yeah..."

"And would you mind repeating that little statement she left you before you went back to bed?"

The traumatised Mudkip hesitated, before he spoke reluctantly; "Never have I met a bunch of teenagers who were scared so easily. Oh, ha ha, you are all a bunch of wusscakes and noobs and you got owned, lol, I am so clairvoyant." While Brittany spoke this in such an ecstatic tone that it made her sound like an eight year old, Dylan spoke it in a voice that sounded depressed and unthoughtful.

"Pfft. Teens." Aaron swaggered along without a care in the world.. "Aren't I glad I sleep like a rock?"

"No, you're just glad because she gave you a little peck on the cheek for not screaming once!" Nick shouted angrily.

"No, you're just jealous because she gave me a little peck on the cheek for not screaming once. Besides, at least I wasn't the one having a fantasy about Crimson Viper."

Luke gasped suddenly. "I did not! It wasn't a fantasy involving her at all! I swear! I was having a really, err, sophisticated dream!"

"Which somehow involved not being jealous, Mt. Rushmore, and Crimson Viper? I mean, what the heck is Mt. Rushmore?"

Luke sighed, calming down. "You know, I have absolutely no idea."

"Then it's agreed. You're all jealous because a ghost kissed me."

Everyone shouted angrily at the self-obsessed Pikachu, as they continued on their merry way towards their next destination of Pastoria City.

* * *

valeforXD: The whole Crimson Viper (or , if you will) thing is due to a sudden obsession in Street Fighter IV, which is – and I hesitate at the thought – as good as SSBB. Gah! I get goosebumps just saying it! But, some of the combos confuse me! Clearly, I haven't played a beat 'em up in a loooooong time. Someone wanna tell me exactly how to do Ultra Moves? Please?

Well, seeing as I'm starting to assimilate into my old writing habits again, I have decoded to write something else for a change. Still related to this fanfic, though. In addition to the character biographies I recently posted on Chapter 1, I will be explaining the characters a bit further from their POV (point of view. Must I explain everything, SpawnXD?) and, maybe, clear up a few – not that there are many – questions about the fanfic. It'll give me something to do whilst working up to the midway point of this behemoth of a fic. Well, it'll be a nice distraction before I start on **Chapter 23: Luke Warm Love!**

Please read and review, too!

-Vale


	23. Luke Warm Love

valeforXD: Checked out my first POV, _An Intriguing Sort of Jealousy, _yet? No? Okay, then. In that case, I shall continue on with the story despite having nothing else to comment on right now.

Also, WeedleFan is DYLB3RT1993. He bags me out when I miss Top Gear of a Tuesday night. Just ignore him.

*********************************************************Chapter 23

"...And I'm just saying that she is incredibly picky! She said she doesn't like midgets, but she still gave you a little peck on the cheek!"

But Aaron just kept on walking, whistling the opening theme to Street Fighter IV. Poor old Luke was in total distress; his position as the one who gets all the girls may have been in jeopardy, thanks to an ecstatic and jubilant Pikachu who had only received the slightest of kisses from a Shuppet.

"C'mon, Aaron, just cut me some slack here!"

Aaron stopped whistling and spun around. "If you really must know," He began, crossing his arms and rolling his beady black eyes, "Her lips were drenched in saliva. It wasn't the most pleasant kiss I have ever received."

"Since..." Luke was breathing heavily, hands on his knees. "When have you ever been kissed otherwise?"

"From my mother, obviously."

"Well, that's understandable, but..." Before he could finish, he doubled over himself, his face landing squarely in the dirt. "Maybe we could just rest for a little while?"

Luke had a point. They had been walking for several hours now, so a rest couldn't possibly hurt. "Why not?"

The party had no sooner located themselves under the shade of a towering oak tree. Luke and Dylbert lay up against the tree, while Aaron lay squarely on the grass that tickled and massaged his back. Nick was out near some bushes, searching for berries that were deemed edible and not already half eaten by the local bug population, and Dylan situated himself by a nearby river, watching with content as it rippled his reflection.

"I am still not dropping this," Luke stated suddenly. "She doesn't date midgets, but you're shorter than me, Aaron! I mean where's the logic in that?"

Aaron smirked, turning away to hide it. "I think you're just jealous."

Luke couldn't help but to sigh and nod in agreement. "I miss the company of women. I mean, you guys are alright, but sometimes there's a certain feeling that only a female can satisfy."

"Luke, I couldn't even begin to explain what is incredibly wrong with that statement," Dylbert laughed.

"Leave him alone," Nick called from within a nearby bush, searching frantically. "He's got issues, so what? Dylbert, you're a huge wusscake, Aaron's a big crybaby, and Dylan, whoo boy! Where do I start?" He pulled himself out of the bush, holding a bunch of plump looking yellow berries with tiny purple dots littering their skin. "Sitrus berries! Score!"

Luke was prepared to comment on Nick's stubbornness, but felt it was unnecessary. Playful insults were the least of his problems. "I've had a lot of friends that are girls, but none of them ever said anything except, 'you're cute, we should hang out.' Just once, I'd like one to say, well... 'I love you...'"

"Oh...!" Aaron suddenly exclaimed, sitting up and wiping grass off his furry back. "You mean you want a girlfriend?"

Luke nodded again.

"Well, pfft, I'm no expert on these things. But from what I've experienced in life – granted, that ain't a lot – well, these things take time. You gotta be patient. The right one will find their way to you one day."

Luke looked at the rodent curiously. "Uh, thanks?" He said uncertainly.

"Don't sweat it." He stood up and shook himself off, like a dog that had just emerged from water. "I'm gonna go talk to Dylan now." With that, as proclaimed, he started for Dylan who still seemed to be lost in his reflection in the flowing river.

Luke and Dylbert watched with fascination as Aaron and Dylan talked amongst themselves quietly. One could only assume that they were talking about obvious matters; the current argument that Dylan and Nick found themselves in. Although that assumption was passed off when they heard Aaron suddenly shout: "No, Cammy is way better! Abel can bite me for all I care!"

"What is up with his obsession with Street Fighter IV?" Dylbert asked no-one in particular.

"That's beside the point," Luke replied, after listening to them babble on for another minute. "For one, Rufus beats the schnoz out of all of them, and two, if they aren't gonna try and settle it, then maybe we should." He stood up and brushed himself off lightly. "Are you coming?" He asked, turning to Dylbert.

"Where are you going?"

Luke had already started for the little blue and red tail that poked out of the nearby bushes. He signalled, with a nod of the head, for Dylbert to follow. "I'm going to try and solve this myself."

As Nick had gripped onto another bunch of the elusive Sitrus berries, no sooner had he lost it, as he felt several hands grip his own tail and yank hard, pulling him out of the bush and forcing him on his backside. His head was covered in tiny leaves and patches of dirt smeared all over his body. He stared at the Treecko and Chimchar that stood over him, glaring at him indignantly.

"We need to talk," they announced in unison.

"Oh, hehe..." Nick sweatdropped awkwardly. "I'm sorry for saying that you all have issues. But, I still stand by what I said about Dylan."

"And that's what we want to talk to you about," Luke replied immediately as Nick stood up and dusted the dirt and leaves off of himself. "I don't know what's going on in that thick skull of yours, but whatever you think about him is wrong. You have to stop this!"

Nick simply snorted and turned away. "I don't want to talk to him."

Luke sighed. "You're being ridiculous, Nick. Look, over there..." He pointed with a ball-tipped finger to where Aaron and Dylan now sat in deep conversation. Nick eyed them at the slightest. "Dylan was just sitting all by himself. He didn't look all that happy, y'know? He was just staring at his reflection."

"He must be very narcissistic. Besides, he looks happy now, doesn't he? I mean, they sound like they're just talking about Street Fighter..."

Everyone fell silent for a moment as they eavesdropped on them. "Once again," Luke started, "Rufus could own them all, and I am awesome so your argument is irrelevant. But, on another, more serious note, Aaron went over there to, what I assume, cheer him up. I mean, you two used to be the best of friends! You were inseparable! But now, for no real obvious reason, you've just decided to, well..." He rubbed his forehead. "I don't even know. I am really confused. Explain why you're still angry with him?"

"Because."

"Because..."

"Because. Just because." Once again, he folded his forearms and turned away.

"I can see we are getting nowhere with this..." Luke stepped towards the troubled Totodile and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, just have a think about what you're doing, okay? I'm not forcing you to do anything, I just want you to have a think about this. Can you at least do that?"

Nick didn't reply at first. Deep in his mind, he was telling himself; _What is there to think about? I've already made up my mind, and frankly, I'll be happy if I never speak to him again! But, then again, Dylbert and Luke are looking at me really weirdly. What should I do? Anything to make them shut up about this for just a little while..._

His thinking was interrupted by a sudden voice nearby. "Hey! Are you guys coming, or what?" Nick turned to see it was Dylan calling out; the expression of happiness exaggerated by his wide smile. Nick couldn't help but stare...

"So, Nick?"

_I'm gonna regret this... _"I'll think about it, Luke."

Luke smiled. "Thank 's all I asked."

Aaron was now impatiently tapping his foot on the dirty road. "So, are we gonna get going any time soon?"

Without hesitation, Dylbert, Luke and Nick joined the other two and continued towards their next destination.

* * *

Just before nightfall, as the last signs of daylight were fast fading into the horizon, the party had found themselves in Pastoria City. Nick, having travelled all over Sinnoh, explained Pastoria as a quaint little city, where many had chosen to retire due to its location by the sea, as well as the resort that situated further east. Well, at least that's how he had witnessed it. Surprisingly, the second they set foot within the city, a huge crowd of purple frog creatures had rushed past them, yelling something indistinguishable to anyone else.

"Perhaps you were a little scarce on the details, Nick?" Aaron suggested, a little bewildered.

"I believe this is the annual Croagunk Festival. I went to last year's festival, and quite frankly, I had no idea what the fuss was about. First they get up on stage and croak for a few minutes, then they Brick Break, well, bricks, and then the two finalists wrestle it out to become Croagunk King, or something."

"Sounds boring," Luke sighed. "Let's follow those Croagunk!"

Luke rushed after the shouting Croagunk, and reluctantly, the others followed. They arrived at a huge purple stage that displayed a huge Croagunk face, and currently a Croagunk stood there, croaking.

Bored already, after only seconds of standing and watching, Aaron decided to comment. "It's hard to believe that so many people actually liked Croagunk to the point where they became one..."

"What about Dylan?" Dylbert replied. "I herd he lieks mudkipz."

Dylan snorted. "That meme is old, and besides, how could you not like Mudkip?"

After another minute of watching the same Croagunk croak itself silly on stage, Luke gave up. "I am seriously bored. I'm just gonna walk off inconspicuously."

Leaving the others to be bored senseless, Luke simply wondered around the city, admiring its pleasant views in the sunset. True to Nick's word, Pastoria was a beautiful place; it was just a shame that it was marred by Croagunk overrunning it. Never had he been to such a marvellous and alluring place!

He made rest atop a wharf that stretched along the beach, cafes and stalls littering themselves across it, himself sitting upon a railing at the edge. For about half an hour, Luke simply stared out into the ocean, the sun's rays deflecting off it, creating a blanket of white radiance that stretched on forever. It was a sight to behold, one that he would surely never forget.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Luke spun around, almost losing his perch on the railing and toppling over. He was surprised to hear a girl's voice, no younger than him, he was guessing.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" She cried.

Luke smiled. "Oh, no, that's alright..." Finally getting a look at the girl, he was surprised to hear such a cute voice coming from the mouth of a Squirtle. Certainly not what he had expected. Yet, as much as Squirtle had usually seemed unattractive, she seemed unimaginably... Luke couldn't begin to describe what he was seeing inside of her.

This was his chance! He had to start things off smoothly. No awkward pick-up lines, just to say something sophisticated and meaningful. He remembered the pick-up line he had once used... _Ooohh, your butt must be jelly, cos jam don't shake like that! _That resulted in him losing a few teeth. He wanted to say something that would be, well, not so corny, and would result in him keeping his teeth.

_The weather? She just commented on that, so..._ "I think you're pretty lucky, being able to live here. It's a beautiful place."

"You're not from around here, are you?" The Squirtle asked curiously.

"Nope, I'm from Jubilife City." he hopped down from the railing to introduce himself with proper etiquette. "I'm Luke. Nice to meet you!" he smiled.

The Squirtle giggled. "Well, you're quite the cute Treecko, aren't you?" She said, making Luke noticeably blush. "My name's Elly. Nice to finally meet a boy around here who isn't a Croagunk, or a Floatzel like Crasher Wake. What brings you here, anyway?"

"You've heard about the group of teenagers chasing down Team Galactic, haven't you?"

For a second, Elly hummed loudly, presumably trying to remember. "Oh, yes!" She jumped. "You're with that Pikachu, aren't you?"

"...Uh, yeah, the Pikachu..."

"Don't tell him, but I always thought he was a bit... I dunno... He's too heroic for my liking. But I've heard all about you! You're so committed to this mission, aren't you? One who's ready to give it their all and succeed... I like a guy like that..." She raised her eyes at him, obviously hinting at something. Luke, once again, blushed.

""Oh, pfft. It's nothing, really."

Elly's eyes seemed to light up all of a sudden. "I would very much like to hear about your travels!"

"Really? You wanna hear about it from me...?"

"Of course I do!"

"Oh, well, we don't really do anything interesting... Well, except free-fall from the sky, and blow up Pokémon Hunter buildings, and stuff like that..."

Luke couldn't stop blushing. He was a little embarrassed, nevertheless he had a warm feeling spreading through him. Already he had had so many female acquaintances, but this truly felt like something else. Could it be...love?

"Hey, Luke!"

Luke almost lost his cool as he heard a familiar voice shout to him from the other side of the wharf. It was Aaron, and he was being accompanied by the usual rabble of friends. "Hey, there you are! We wondered where you had gotten to!"

"Um, hi guys," Luke greeted as they came closer. "I was just here, talking to my new friend Elly."

Elly turned around and pulled the biggest of grins, overwhelming Luke with that warm feeling he had earlier. "Pleased to meet you! Luke is quite the charmer, huh?" She playfully laughed.

"Oh, yeah, quite so," Aaron replied, kicking his foot along the wooden planks. "So, uh, Luke, we got bored of the Croagunk festival, so we're gonna head for the Pokémon Center, but... I can see you're a little pre-occupied..."

Luke's face was intensely red now. "Yeah, um... Look, I'll meet you guys there later, if that's okay."

Aaron nodded, and signalled for the others to follow him. As he slipped by Luke, however, he whispered to him, "I told you you'd find the right one, Luke. I think you should hang on to this one." But before Luke could reply, he and the others had already made off, leaving Luke and Elly alone once again.

"So, they're your friends?" Elly asked. Luke nodded in reply. "They look like a fun bunch..."

"Not quite as fun as you," Luke suddenly blurted, not realising what he had said.

Elly shot him an odd stare. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"I surely hope so!" Luke shouted, now worried.

Elly simply laughed and said, "Oh, Luke, you're so funny, you know that?"

Luke didn't know what to say. He was lost for words or actions; he just stood there, motionless, like some sort of store front mannequin. It seemed none was necessary, though, as Elly had grasped his hands with her own smooth claws. "Luke, I have searched for someone like you for so long... Living around these Croagunk freaks really does things to ya... But, Luke, you seem like a really nice guy. I would love to get to know you more personally..."

Luke jumped at the thought. She really wanted to be with him? "Well, as much as I would love to be in a relationship, well..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "After Aaron has his Gym battle tomorrow, we'll be leaving again..."

"I'm patient. I can wait until you finish your journey, if I need to. I just want to get to know you better, Luke."

He was gobsmacked. "I-I don't know what to say..."

Elly put a finger to his lips. "You don't have to say anything..." And with that, she leaned up, standing on her tippy claws, and gave Luke the peckiest of kisses on the cheek, before skipping off along the wharf. Instinctively, Luke rubbed his cheek, promising never to wash it again.

* * *

"You know," Aaron suddenly asked, uncurling himself from his comfortable position on the bed, "Dylan, didn't you say that Luke would find true love in the form of a Squirtle?"

Dylan suddenly shuddered. "I did, yeah..."

"Then maybe you're a psychic! Can you read my fortune?"

Dylan began to concentrate, squeezing his eyes shut and concentrating on only Aaron. Finally, he jumped in place and shouted, "I got it! You're going to find true love in the form of a... uh... Another Pikachu! Her name will be... Um... Alice, yes, Alice! And she will be accompanied by a Pidgeotto named Russell!"

"You didn't!" Aaron snapped, unfurling himself from his foetal position. "I never had a crush on her, honest!"

The fact was, Aaron had a childhood crush named Alice. She was also lucky enough to receive a Pikachu, hence she would probably be one in current circumstances, but the thing was, Aaron had always liked her. He was just afraid to admit it. "That's not a future at all! I guess that's what you get if you ask a guy who likes Abel..."

"Okay, then," Dylan continued, "You'll find a girl named Cammy and she'll-" He was suddenly interrupted by a Pikachu tackling him off the bed and wrestling him to the floor.

* * *

valeforXD: The one thing I never thought I could even touch on; romance. I will admit that it's a bit of a corny love scene, but I'm not hugely good at these things, and the person who represents Luke in real life, funnily enough named Luke, requested this to happen. He requested a Squirtle named Elly, so it's not my fault if you don't like it.

And, after my recent obsession with all things Street Fighter IV, I have found myself liking Cammy a lot. I mean, who doesn't? She's skimpily clad, for the love of Seth!

Well, I shouldn't be unleashing my secret fetishes upon you all. Instead, I might get started on **Chapter 24: Aaron VS Wake! **

Please read and review, too! I haven't had a review in ages!

-Vale


	24. Out of His Element

valeforXD... is not a happy chappy. My flash drive is lost within the black hole that is my room, and it had Chapter 24 on it. So, I have to start again. Again. Sigh.

Special thanks needs to go out to my new friend Mewtastic, who is the only person who has reviewed in ages. I mean, sure, views are good – incidentally I hit 1,000 in May alone, which is an achievement for me – but I need your reviews! I've probably majorly screwed things up somewhere and not one person has told me if I have. Thanks to the people who have reviewed, of course, I do still appreciate them. But, all you have to do is click that magical link below and write your words of wisdom into a little box for all, in particular me, to see. Except killerdude035. You just stay away. Please.

Well, shall we continue?

*****************************************************Chapter 24

_Amongst all the ordinary and dull girls that sat around in a circle on the grass, there she sat, shining like a star amongst the evening sky, her blonde ponytail swaying hypnotically with the wind, her white smile lighting up his heart. Never had he felt this sensation, but upon gazing at her angelic appearance, upon hearing her every word drift into his ears with undoubted intelligence, he couldn't resist. He simply had to have her all for himself!_

_Casually, even though sweat streamed down his face, he strolled over to the group, his Pikachu following closely behind, and stood behind her. He cleared his throat, and like that the group of girls fell silent and turned to him, staring at him with the glaring eyes of a snake. All except one._

"_Um... Hey, Alice...?"_

_She spun her head around to see who had asked for her attention, not quite expecting the smart, spiky haired kid with the Pikachu wearing the green headband. "Oh, hi! Is something wrong?" She spoke softly; to him it was the sound of a harp playing aimlessly but beautifully amongst the clouds of heaven._

"_Oh, um, nothing is wrong... I was just wondering... Uh..." He couldn't think straight now. Even his Pikachu was giving him the strangest of stares, but he ignored it. "Maybe you'd like to... Uh..."_

_Before he had the opportunity to finish, he was interrupted by another plain girl, kicking a soccer ball into the air. "Hey, Alice! Come and play soccer with us!"_

_She simply nodded, got up, and walked away, not even acknowledging his presence any longer. Disappointed, he walked off, mortified and embarrassed at himself. His true love, the one he had always wanted to be with, had turned him down without so much as a word._

* * *

He suddenly sprang up as the sun's rays began to burn his face lightly. It seemed early still, and yet he felt so tired. How long had he been awake last night?Last night... Nothing had crossed his mind but what Dylan had joked about.

Alice.

Considering his previous encounter with her, Aaron had grown up a little, and now didn't consider her an overly outlandish angel-like being whose voice sounded of harp strokes amongst the heavens. But still, there was a sense of longing for her. Last night, he had pondered it far into the night, far past his usual bedtime, but he had decided to come right out and tell Alice how he felt about her. He was ready for it.

Downstairs, everyone was already wide awake and feeding themselves handfuls of Poké Chow, sitting on a sofa in the main waiting room. Luke, in particular, was shoving it down at an alarming rate, huge sploshes of the brown chunky meat littering his face. As tired and watery as his eyes were, Aaron still thought he looked a tiny bit like a homeless gecko. Aaron pulled himself up alongside the messy Treecko, who failed to acknowledge his presence.

Wanting to be noticed, Aaron asked him a question. "So, how did your ate with Elly go?"

The sounds of munching and gulping ceased as Luke turned to the curious Pikachu. "Date? I don't know if you could call it a date. We didn't organise a date, she just sorta showed up, and well... Things happened..."

"Luke, you sicken me," Aaron replied, staring him down sternly.

Luke shook his hands at him and smiled, embarrassed. "No, no! Not like that! My word, you have a sick mind sometimes..." Obviously craving more Poké Chow, he scooped up another handful of the meaty chunks and shovelled it into his mouth, much of it scraping his saggy nose. "Wot I meant to phay iph," He said inbetween chewing, "Phee kiphed me on duh cheek."

"She kicked you in the cheek?"

"No, kiphed!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full. It's very uncouth and inpilite."

Luke swallowed the last of his mouthful. "She _kissed_ me on the cheek!"

Aaron sarcastically acted surprised, his mouth gaping. "You got a kiss on the cheek? Sounds delightful!" He giggled and rolled his eyes.

"I haven't forgotten about your little encounter with Dylan's cousin, Azz." Once again, he shoved another handful of breakfast in. "Bephidepfft..." That was one of the most disgusting sounds Aaron had ever heard, distorted speech combined with the ickiest of raspberries, which had resulted in him receiving a face full of saliva and half chewed bits of meat. "I duhn't phee yoo wiv a girlphriend."

Even through mouthfuls of food Aaron had still understood him. He didn't have a girlfriend. At least, not yet. "Just you wait and see, Luke," He replied, wiping some of the food off his face and smearing the rest. "I'll be asking a girl for her companionship very soon, just you wait! And she'll love me just as Elly loves you!"

Dylbert insisted that he butt in."Not with that all over your face, you won't, you social reject!" Everyone else couldn't help but to laugh amidst their own mouthfuls of Poké Chow.

Aaron groaned. "Well, fine. I'm going to wash myself off, then we're going to the Pastoria Gym! I am gonna kick the Floatzel out of Crasher Wake!" He threw his fist into the air with childlike glee.

* * *

That childlike glee had long since packed up and left, leaving Aaron in a less confident and more melancholy state, as they had arrived at the Gym. Inside, it was simply a swimming pool, about fourteen feet long, with several white platforms floating atop the surface, ripples slapping against them and causing them to rock slightly. Overlooking the pool from left and right were two grandstands; supposedly this Gym was for more than just battling.

Already the others had situated themselves atop the highest seats on the grandstands, but Luke sat a seat down below them, his new acquaintance Elly accompanying them. They still exchanged information about each other, but more so Luke was telling her about his adventures as a Treecko, and Elly sat and listened to every word he said with content, although to observers she seemed lost in his eyes.

Somewhat envious, Aaron tried to avert himself and focus on the coming battle. He waited for the gym leader to show, as he himself stood at one end of the pool.

His patience wasn't tested for very long, as the lights dimmed all through the arena. Through speakers came a brave and fearless voice:

"Those who stand in my presence, tremble in fear! Bask in my superior intelligence and cunning! Witness the ultimate in the power of water!"

A single spotlight flicked on, and in its light stood an orange weasel-like creature, a Floatzel, tall and triumphant. It was distinguishable, however, by the odd blue and white mash it wore, looking questionably fashionable on such a Pokémon. It grinned smugly. "I am the almighty Crasher Wake," He shouted, striking several outlandish poses in quick succession, "And I will send any challenger crashing into th-" He stopped short when he caught sight of his challenger, a Pikachu, and the others who sat atop the grandstand in the corner of his eye. "Could it be...?"

Aaron, confused as always, was quick to figure out Wake's trip-up in his entrance; he recognised him as the kid who was chasing down Team Galactic.

"Well, usually it's an honour to be in my presence, but this time, I would be the one that is honoured!" Wake chortled. "So, you're the kid who's supposed to be after those darned Galactics, huh?"

"The one and only," Aaron replied, a little embarrassed at his own fame. "The name's Aaron."

"Aaron... Yes, I've heard a lot about you!" Wake continued to shout unnecessarily. "Well, consider this a test of your strength and valour. I will make sure you're in shape to take those no gooders sinking into the ocean!"

Aaron managed an inaudible giggle. "I can't understand your sea metaphors, but I'll be happy to show you what I'm made of!" He forced himself down onto all fours, assuming himself into a battle-ready position. "I'm ready for ya!"

"That's the spirit!" Wake replied, loudly as ever. "Let's get started!"

Both Wake and Aaron leaped onto a floating platform each, and Wake seemed perfectly fine, even if he was shaking due to the unstable platforms. Aaron, upon landing, almost slipped off, and caused water to slip over the platform, making it slippery. Already he felt uneasy being on such a loose platform over such a deep body of water. Hopefully, he wouldn't fall in.

"Okay, then!" With a swish of both Wake's arms, all the lights shot back on. Without any announcement, he leaped onto the middle platform, and fired a stream of water forcefully from his mouth. Unsurprisingly to every person who is even remotely literately educated, Aaron leaped into the air before it could force him off the platform, only to land on it and almost slip off the slippery surface.

Without hesitation, Aaron leaped into the air, concentrating all his strength into his tail and causing it to light up brightly, before bringing it down hard on an unsuspecting Wake. Unfortunately for the electric mouse, this was what he had hoped. Instead, Wake had leaped into the water seconds earlier, leaving Aaron to slam a rock-solid Iron Tail into an unsteady platform, causing it to flip under the sudden appliance of weight, and sending Aaron under.

He opened his eyes; immediately the stinging of chlorine to his eyeballs caused him to squeeze them shut again. After a moment, once the stinging had ceased, he slowly opened his eyes, easing them to the unpleasant touch of water. He simply hovered in the water for a second, as the daunting memories of his childhood flooded back into his mind; the Octillery incident, when he was about eight years old. Like its tentacles that wrapped themselves around his body tightly and making themselves known, so too did the fact that Aaron was really a poor swimmer. Brilliant.

He started by doing the only thing he could. He pulled his arms down and spread his legs out, forcing upwards a little. He shut his legs again and brought his arms up, and repeated the process, but at the speed he was going, he was getting nowhere fast.

Wake had decided to help, of course. From nowhere did he appear, harshly tackling him from behind and sending him soaring through the water and out the surface. Wake appeared just above the surface to see the disoriented Pikachu land squarely on his backside at the side of the pool, and could only manage a hearty laugh. "Is that the best you got, little dude?"

Frustrated, Aaron shot up and jumped back onto one of the floating platforms. Instinctively, he shook himself dry like a dog. His rather smug facial expression spoke louder than words.

Wake displayed his won smug look. "If that's what you want!" He dived underwater again. Aaron was left looking everywhere for his figure underwater. Imagine the shock he got when the platform suddenly flipped under him again, with an Aqua Jet-ing Wake beneath it. Luckily, Aaron managed to land on another platform and keep his balance.

He was running out of options very quickly. Wake was just too fast! There was very little footing leaving very little opportunity for a physical attack, and with water everywhere it was simply too dangerous for an electrical attack.

Wake had once again leaped out of the water – Aaron wasn't even aware he had submerged again – and was already charging for him, a veil of rushing water surrounding him like a water missile.

_Only one thing to do! _Aaron held his arm back, concentrating some of his electricity through his fur and to his arm, and waited for the Floatzel to get close enough. Then when he was within arm's reach, he launched his fist forward, sparks trailing from it, and managed to make contact with his opponent's shiny nose, sending him flying back, the veil of water soon evaporating.

As Wake went crashing into the water, crying in pain, Aaron could only wonder in amazement at himself. "Did I just do a Thunderpunch?"

"Aaron!" Dylbert shouted from the sidelines. "Stop gaping at yourself and watch out!"

Aaron couldn't even get in a second thought about it as once again, the platform beneath his paws gave way to a charging Floatzel, but this time he wasn't so lucky. Once again he found himself splashing into the depths of the pool, this time the chlorine getting up his nose. He wanted to sneeze urgently, but the lack of any air was preventing him. Something told him that the battle wasn't going to last him much longer.

Wake seemed to think the same thing. Rather than come from behind, he charged for the helpless Pikachu, clearly visible.

_I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this..._

Reluctantly, Aaron loosed sparks of electricity all through the water. From there on in, everything went white. He felt immense pain throughout his whole body, like being zapped continuously. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world, as he felt his whole body just shut down and sink slowly to the bottom. The last thing he heard were the voices of his friends calling out to him, their calls too muffled to be distinguishable. The last of the air inside of him abruptly faded away...

* * *

He slowly opened his eyes. At first, his vision was blurry, but as it became less opaque and more clear he saw the eyes of a Totodile staring him down only inches from his own face. Instinctively, he screamed.

Instinctively, Nick jumped back and tumbled off the bed which Aaron lay on. He climbed back up seconds later. "Geez, Azz, you've got a set of lungs on ya!"

Aaron felt too weak to reply. He wasn't aware just yet, but several leads had been connected to his cheeks, and these leads were connected to some strange contraptions beside the bed. When he did notice them, he seemed surprised.

"Usually that happens," Luke said from beside the bed, alongside Elly, "When you unleash a Thundershock while you're in the water."

"...Did I do that?" Aaron replied softly.

"You most certainly did," Another, deeper voice replied from the other side of the bed. Aaron turned his head a little to see Wake standing beside, looking a little out of place amongst all the tiny Pokémon that filled the room. "You cost yourself a gym badge with that reckless move!"

Aaron didn't reply.

"Maybe it was just the fact that you were a little uncomfortable battling over the water. But still, your moves were reckless. You have a long way to go before you're ready to take on Cyrus, if you ask me."

Obviously torn about it, Aaron sat himself up slowly, his face cringing with pain all the way. "I might have screwed up this time, but I'll be back, Wake, and I'll be tough enough to take you down…" He slumped back into bed, defeated.

"Tsk tsk…" Wake shook his head. "You're pretty beat. The nurse said you'll have to stay overnight and let your electricity charge. By tomorrow, you'll be fine again. But you're not ready to take me on."

* * *

valeforXD: Sorry for the sudden abrupt ending, but I just wanted this chapter over and done with. Plus, I wanted to get on to the next chapter because it's gonna be fun to write which means I'll get it uploaded sooner, hopefully.

Aaron: No you won't, you lazy moron. You're so lazy! Get off GRID and hurry up and finish this fanfic! I wanna see if I die or not!

valeforXD: That can quite easily be arranged… *draws steak knife*


	25. Like Heaven, Times Sixteen

IMPORTANT NOTE: _The Mishaps and Marvels of Aaron The Pikachu's _rating has been upped from a K+ rating to a slightly more mature rating. _TMAMOATP _will now include violence, mature themes, and some coarse language. (Not gratuitous, like MadWorld or HotD Overkill, but more like once every blue moon swearing. There's a bit in this chapter, but it's very small. So, yeah. Very insignificant change, but just in case...)

valeforXD: Ah! I forgot to even mention what this chapter was called in my A/N last chapter! Aaaaahhhh! Ah well. At least this chapter will be more exciting, at least for me.

I just took a test, however, to determine whether my character was a Mary Sue. Immediately I failed; my character is named after me, but disregarding this supposedly important factor I scored -5. Hey, I have an excuse! It wasn't supposed to turn out like this! It was a simple little story that I felt like writing, after discovering FanFiction. I wanted to upload something (Doggy Style doesn't count) and as such _The Mishaps and Marvels _was born.

Enough of the history lesson. Two things before we delve into Chapter 25:

1. If any of Mewtastic's fans (I can hear Aaron chuckling in the background) have come to mob me for not giving her an OC, then cram it. Because, err, I gave her one. I think her name was Nina...? Hmm...

's my reviews? I don't care how many views I get, I need your feedback! It's much more precious than=n views; views could just be DYLB3RT1993 spamming. So come on! Review!

Right. Let's get on with it.

**********************************************************Chapter 25

Aaron sat up in bed the next morning; the electrodes were still strapped to his cheeks. Not the Pokemon Electrode, rather the electrodes that were providing electricity for him. Silly…

Surprisingly, he seemed fine. He could feel the electricity coursing through his body once again. Once upon a human life such a feeling would be foreign, but now he considered it quite normal, even secular. He was entirely comfortable with it.

Of course, then the crushing loss that he had caused himself yesterday came back to him. How he had shocked the water, and caused at least himself serious injury. Wake seemed to be fine, so he didn't have to worry bout him; it was the crushing defeat that he had endured. How could he have been so rash?

Having his strength back, he sat up quite easily, although slowly so as not to disturb the electrodes, and examined his surroundings. It was the same room that he found himself in yesterday after his battle against Wake, save his friends crowding worriedly around him, and the nurse powering the numerous electronics which were no doubt keeping him conscious and awake. There was now simply a box-like device on the bedside table, with wires connected to it and his cheeks. He wanted to pull them off, but pulling on them ever so slightly produced a spark that zapped him without warning. "Ow!" He sucked on his fingers for a second. "Son of a..."

He removed his fingers just in time for the door to open, and a Chimchar, Dylbert, was standing in the frame. He turned back for a moment. "Nurse Joy! He's awake!" He turned back and started for the bed, and smiled. "So how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," Aaron replied frankly. "Once I get these things off..." He eyed the electrodes.

"So, care to explain what happened yesterday?" Dylbert leaped onto the bed, mindful of the wires running everywhere. "It seems to me that you spend more time bedridden than you do battling."

"You're in no position to talk, pal," Aaron replied a little angrily, but quickly settled down. "But, to tell the truth? I don't know. I'd blame it on my Pikachu instincts, but not even natural born Pikachu would be so stupid as to shock the water, would they?"

"Probably not." Dylbert suddenly jumped. "Oh, Wake told me to tell you, because you probably won't remember from yesterday... But he said... Um... 'You need more than a thick skull if you wanna battle me again! You need a brain to fit that skull! Oh, don't tell it to him like that, something more along the lines of, you show great power, but you don't quite have the smarts to take me on just yet! No, wait, just say, come back when you're stronger!'"

"Glad to know he thinks so much of me," Aaron said as the nurse appeared in the room. "Oh, Nurse Joy!"

"Hello!" She replied joyfully – if you'll excuse the pun. "We'll just get those electrodes removed and you'll be able to leave! I understand you have quite a journey still ahead of you!" The nurse flicked a switch, and immediately Aaron noticed a difference, as if he felt lighter... The nurse proceeded to remove the electrodes, performed with a swift tug and a soft popping sound emitting from both of them.

Aaron threw the sheets off and steadily slid out of bed. He moved his arms and seemingly non-existent neck around to make sure everything worked, which it did. He even twitched his tail a bit, to make sure he could still feel that as well. Everything was working perfectly. "Thanks, Nurse Joy!"

"My pleasure," She replied. "I believe your friends are eagerly awaiting you downstairs!"

It wasn't quite the welcoming party he had quite expected. Already, Luke and Elly were staring contently into each other's eyes, assumingly exchanging goodbyes with one another, his ball-tipped hands holding her little blue claws firmly, as ever.

"Don't worry, Lukey," Elly sighed after a seemingly long silence. "We'll be seeing each other again very soon."

"Well, my family doesn't really travel around much..."

Elly laughed, her laugh almost identical to a hyena. "No, silly! I'm going to be moving to Jubilife!"

Would this have been an outlandish 1960's animation, Luke's mouth would have dropped to the floor, but even now his jaw dangled loosely, the saliva on his throat clearly visible from a distance. "That's great news! You'll finally be rid of all those Croagunk!"

"And I'll be able to spend more time with you..."

He couldn't help but to blush, and laugh like a gleeful child up to mischief. The almost maniacal laugh was abruptly cut short when two claws slipped around his thin neck, and a pair of lips smooched against his . All his life he had been around girls, yet never before had he felt the lips of one pressed against his own! Granted, this was a turtle kissing him, but he didn't care. What's more, he loved every moment. His eyes instinctively slid shut, and he embraced her willingly, his own arms wrapped around her neck now. Nothing else mattered then, not even the impatient wailing of his friends who had been waiting for minutes on end. Just as long as she was in his arms, he was happy.

It, of course, came as much disappointment for him when their lips parted. A bright smile and a gleeful giggle was the last he had seen and heard of her before she bounded off out the door, disappearing behind the opaque door of separation, and Luke was left to stare blankly.

After yet another trademark silence, Aaron decided to break it. "So, maybe we should get going then?"

"Looks like jealousy strikes again, huh?" Dylan replied from beside him, as they all started for the sliding door of the Pokémon Center.

'Jealous? Me? Most certainly not! It's the total opposite!" They all walked out the sliding door and into the late morning sun.

Luke was soon to follow, finally breaking out of his blissful trance, and quick to join the conversation. "He's jealous."

"Oh, for the love of Arceus..." Aaron face palmed himself in dismay. "I have absolutely no reason to be jealous whatsoever! Just you wait and see!"

Nick, seemingly eager to digress, butted in. "So where are we headed next?"

"Hopefully, with no disruptions," He replied, immediately rid of the talk of girlfriends and jealousy, "We should be in Veilstone City by tomorrow afternoon."

"I highly doubt that," Nick quickly interrupted. "There is the certainty that Team Galactic will be at Lake Valor. If I remember correctly, they want to control Dialga and Palkia and create a new world, and-" He eyed Dylbert quite disturbingly, "Because I actually _paid attention _in Ancient History..." He turned away immediately, not really wanting to look at him, "I know that they need Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie to forge the red chains to control them."

"Thank you for the mouthful, Nick," Aaron replied, having known all this already and not paying any attention. "Off to lake Valor then!"

* * *

It was odd. Usually, by this time in the year, Lake Valor was crawling with fisherman, at the least, and families going for a quick dip in the luscious waters of the lake. It was void of any life, as was the neighbouring Hotel Grand Lake; suspiciously deserted. Something was certainly amiss, and it would take a real nitwit to not notice. Almost immediately does Nick come to the minds of many. All that was present was a weak gust of wind; eerie as it was, it was a breath of fresh air compared to the recent gathering of Croagunk. Dull grey clouds gathered overhead, concealing the sun and its warmth, which was surely missed.

The lake and its surroundings were not only missing people, but it was missing a sort of vibrancy, that Nick had once described from his travels. Nick's wisdom seemed untrustworthy at the time, almost absurd. He described it as 'being in heaven, times sixteen.' Nobody knows what it is like to be in heaven, let alone if something were sixteen times better than such a place. The others had looked forward to visiting, but their enthusiasm was long since gone.

There were so many questions everyone had wanted to ask Luke of the previous night and morning revolving around his time with Elly, the Squirtle. There was an obvious discrepancy: how would two different species of Pokémon mate? However, they felt themselves drained of enthusiasm ever since arriving on route, so decided against it.

Dylbert wished to break the silence, as they trudged through the dense forest outside the lake, devoid of animation. "So, sixteen times over, Nick?"

"That was about three years ago, now." Nick sweatdropped. "Don't shoot the messenger! Times change, man..."

Aaron was one to agree. So would everyone else, inhabiting Pokémon bodies.

"Anyway, I think we're close to the lake..." Nick proclaimed drearily, as a distant humming rang in their ears. "What on Earth...?"

The yellow rodent was first to perk up onto his hind legs, his lengthy ears fully erect and working, his nose twitching and sensing. A burning sensation filled his nose. "I smell smoke!" He suddenly shouted, facing the direction of the smell; a public path. "It's this way!" Without another thought did he rush off, and the others followed suit.

A minute later did they arrive at the scene, but the source of the smoke was not as expected; it was an aircraft, presumably, in ruins and spouting clouds worth of it from a blanket of fire. The aircraft looked uncannily similar to the Team Galactic airship they had been chasing, which incidentally, hovered above them. And below that, lay Lake Valor itself, but it didn't seem as impressive as Nick had described, again. "The water is really shiny, like the sun," An immature Nick described, but no one had believed him now.

Whilst trying to see what the swindling Totodile saw in the lake three years ago, they let their guard down quite stupidly. A big red hand suddenly shot out from the airship, and in a split second, it had grabbed onto Luke, clenching him in its iron grip! Luke tried to pry its fingers open, but to no avail. "Put me the hell down!" He cried, struggling furiously. The others watched, bewildered, as the hand receded towards the airship again, and he disappeared behind the hand's shutters. The bag he had carried slipped off of his shoulders and landed on the grass before the other's feet with a soft thud.

"Pardon my mild coarse language, but crap!" Dylbert shouted, making Aaron sweatdrop instinctively.

"I would like to knock you out right now, but Luke's been kidnapped! How do we et him back?"

Before Aaron could devise some sort of action, a childish laugh filled the area. Searching frantically, Dylbert found the source to be the airship, and pointed fruitlessly. "Up there! The voice!"

"You're a very observant little monkey, aren't you?" The voice, a young man no older than they, confirmed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Saturn, and I am Cyrus' heir to the illusory throne to Team Galactic! I have been informed that Cyrus himself has had some trouble with you. You defeated his own Pokémon, survived a 100 storey fall, and even escaped from Pokémon Hunter J! How does such incompetence get you all so far, I wonder?"

From the cabin of the airship, Saturn spoke loud and proud into a microphone, Luke was next to him, hands attached to the bars of a cage that demeaned his former existence of a human. If ever he felt like a meagre Pokémon, it was now.

"Your Treecko friend is up here with me, caged like the animal he is! We also have Azelf, the legendary Pokémon of this lake! And we won't be giving either back any time soon, unless you comply with our demands!"

From down below, he saw a little yellow speck flail his arms and flab his mouth open and shut. Saturn didn't hear them, but he presumed it had said what he had wanted it to say.

"Tell me..." He positioned a lever to a certain position, and the airship lowered almost to ground level, hovering above the lake, and causing the lake to ripple tiny waves around it. "What makes you so special? Why are you, of all people, tracking us down?"

With the press of a button, the windshield in front of Saturn slid open. Immediately Luke began to shout to grab their attention. "Aaron, don't tell him! You don't need to worry about me! Just don't tell him any-"

"The Annulment."

Luke stopped shouting, defeated. Saturn, ever curious, disembarked from his seat, and leaped out the window onto the head of the airship, and subsequently, onto the ground before him. "What did you say?" He replied, his left eye twitching.

"I have the Annulment. I have the power to erase your so-called leader from existence, if he so truly hates humanity."

Saturn simply smiled. "He knew he would have someone with the Annulment chasing after him. Oh yes..." He folded his arms and stood tall and proud. "He knows all about this Annulment crap. You got it from the almighty Arceus, didn't you?"

All around did the two in conflict hear an incredibly audible gasp, as if a celebrity had just waltzed in. They heard whispers from them.

"From Arceus...?"

"The Pokémon God?"

"That's impossible!"

"There really is a God..."

Saturn jerked forward. "Enough! All of you! It's complete crap!"

Aaron chuckled. "Crap, crap, crap. Is that all you ever say? You're quite the potty mouth, aren't you? That's a little rude..."

But he could only laugh menacingly. "So you like manners, huh? How about a little... going away present?" He snapped his fingers, and a huge hatch atop the airship, although not visible to anyone, opened up. A huge blur flew out of it, and instantly landed beside Saturn; a huge robot, roughly twice the size of a normally sized human in both height and diameter, plated in red and silver metal. Graced upon its head was a helmet with three prongs protruding from the forehead, like a trident, coloured yellow, and it had a hairstyle that mimicked its pilot, an erect blue hairdo. The chest opened and flipped about 180 degrees, and Saturn blindly leapt into it, the torso soon swallowing him up. Its eyes turned a blinding red, and it took on a fighting stance. "I want you to say hello to our Galactic Mecha!" His voice was emulated through a mouth that moved in sync with its pilot. "Team Galactic's finest brains developing the most advanced in robot offensive technology! And we got plenty more where this came from, too! Ha ha ha!"

Dylan, Nick and Dylbert were all cowering behind Aaron, who stood tall and brave in front of the ten foot tall beast. "Offensive? Advanced? Ha! I'd say you're just trying to shoe in more popular culture references. Clearly you've been watching too much Gurren Lagann! I mean look!" He pointed with a stubby finger towards the robot's outlandish hairdo. "What's with the hair? And the design of the mecha itself is so cliché and unimaginative that it may as well be from a 1980's Transformers cartoon! I mean, seriously! Coming at me with such unoriginality! Just who the hell do you think I am?"

Everyone around him sweatdropped at the mere mention of the famous quote.

"You?" Saturn laughed an almost blood curdling laugh. "You're just some foot-and-a-half tall rat! Cannon fodder! The gum on my goafers! Absolutely WORTHLESS!" The mecha charged forward, its metal-clad arm held behind it, before lunging it forward straight into the team's general direction. They had managed to dodge in time, and all that resulted was a gaping hole in the ground, and clumps of grass and dirt flying everywhere.

"How the heck are we supposed to take on a ten foot robot?" Dylan cried as he landed firmly on all fours.

"I didn't sign up for this to take on giant robots!" Dylbert seconded, already heavily sweating.

Luckily, Saturn had given them time to think as he contacted the airship. "Jupiter! Have one of our grunts put the captives in the holding bay, and get them back to the HQ! Make sure the hatch is closed before we lift off!"

Aaron snarled. "No! You're not taking Luke!"

The Galactic Mecha smirked menacingly. "I'm afraid you have no say in the matter, you little rat! Now, eat this!" Its big metal fist folded up, and revealed a huge gaping hole. An even bigger rocket shot out of it, heading straight for Aaron and the others.

Everyone managed to leap out of the way, which was the smart thing to do. Everyone' that is, except for Dylbert, who leaped into the air, hopefully to jump over it. When the rocket shot past him and Dylbert didn't land, the others started to worry.

"Somebody GET ME OFF THIS THING!"

Eyes scattered around frantically to find the rocket. Saturn was the one to find it, and gasped when he noticed a red patch of fur clinging on to the rocket.

"Dylbert!" Aaron cried, paws cupped around his muzzle. "Do you think you can steer it?"

"Hell no!" The chimp replied, clinging on to the metal surface for his dear life.

"You'll be fine! Try and steer it into the mecha!"

Dylbert, wanting off the blazing rocket as soon as possible, inched himself up and forward, and grabbed onto the sides of the rocket even harder. He clenched in fear as he pulled towards the left, and the rocket obeyed his command, flanking to the left. It seemed now, that the rocket was soaring straight for the mecha, and Dylbert was powerless to turn it. Only metres away from its target now, he leapt off, and the rocket exploded into its target, sending the metal heap flying into the airship...

Seconds earlier, a Galactic grunt found himself in the holding bay. A blue fairy-like creature was locked in a cage within it, and the grunt was holding another cage with a Treecko inside. He lay the Treecko next to the other blue Pokémon, and proceeded for a big red button next to the open hatch. But before he could push it, the airship rocked and shook vigorously. The grunt toppled over, his legs almost arched over to his back.

Luke stood up and held himself firm against the bars, to try and avoid toppling over himself. But the shaking was too rough, and it eventually bested him; he lost his footing and slipped spectacularly, his head slamming against the cold hard cage bars. The world soon faded from his eyes, and he was blacked out, as the cage slipped towards the open hatch...

Dylbert pulled his face from the grass and wiped it clean, as the others crowded around him.

"Are you okay, Dylbert?" Dylan asked, although he seemed more impressed than worried.

"I think so..." He replied as he rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw an object falling from the airship. "Hey... What's that falling out of the airship?" He pointed obliviously.

Aaron's eyes shot wide open as he recognised the green figure laying inside it. "It's Luke!"

Without warning or aforethought, Dylan dashed for the lake, as the cage fell into it with a huge splash. The others stood and watched as he dived into the lake himself, and all was silent.

Underwater, Dylan made hastily for the cage. He found it, simply drifting along with the weak current, sinking many feet below the surface. He charged for it, slamming his own head against the bars, in an effort to break the thick metal apart, but it was no use. Bubbles were drifting from Luke's mouth as he floated in his cage, unconscious.

Above the surface, Aaron peered over the water, biting the tiny claws on his fingers. "Dylan and Luke have been down there for ages..." Worriedly, he turned to Nick. "Nick! You have to go down there and help them!"

Nick almost choked. "Are you kidding? Me, down there, working with that traitor?"

A dumbfounded Pikachu slapped his forehead and groaned in disgust. "I can't believe you're still going on with this! What is your problem? Get down there now!"

"I'm not doing it!" Typically, Nick folded his stubby forearms and turned away.

"He's going to drown, Nick!"

He thought for a moment as Aaron's words flowed into his head. _He may be right. Why am I still going on with this little charade? Dylan's down there right now trying to rescue one of his friends... He couldn't be a traitor..._

"Nick! Please!" Aaron's eyes were starting to swell with tears. "I don't want to lose anyone else..."

_He's not a traitor,_ Nick told himself, encouraging him to go. _Dylan is not one of them!_ He reminded himself, as he dashed for the water, claws cupped together, and dived in.

Dylan was still bashing against the bars with his bare head, a bruise forming upon it. He stopped, however, when he heard something, an object rushing through the water. Turning around slowly, he saw the large head of a Totodile charging effortlessly through the water, his scaly body zigzagging through the water hypnotically, like a Huntail for his prey.

CRASH!

Nick's head collided with the bars, which slowly cracked until several of them split open, releasing its zonked out captive. Nick grabbed his hand and swam hastily through the lake, and Dylan soon followed.

* * *

Luke awoke to a huge pressure being pressed down on the stomach, one after another, as if in rhythm to a tune – albeit a very painful one. He forced his eyes open weakly, and awaiting him were a pair of beady black eyes, only micrometres away from his own. When he felt a set of furry lips touch his, sending hot air into his dry throat, he shot straight up, and sent someone toppling off of him.

"Aaron! What the hell are you doing?" He shouted, before proceeding to spit saliva out his mouth.

Aaron sat up. "I learned resuscitation at school, and I figured now would be the time to use it..."

Clearly angered, Luke jumped to his feet. "Did you not see my eyes open?"

Everybody stood around, silent, as the area fell into a state of total awkwardness."Uh..." Aaron scratched the back of his neck, waiting for a long time before answering. "Maybe?"

Luke replied simply with a large exhale of breath, calming himself down. "Sorry. I tend to be quite moody when I wake up... What exactly happened? Why did you have to..." He shuddered. "I don't wanna talk about what just happened. But still, what happened?"

"You were in a cage," Nick jumped in, "and you fell from the airship when Dylbert managed to slam that big mecha against it. You ended up in the lake, so Dylan and I jumped in and-"

"You and Dylan?" Luke interrupted excitedly.

Nick sighed. "I had a very simple epiphany. Dylan was helping you, so why would he be a traitor?"

Luke folded his arms and eyed the croc Pokémon with content. "Maybe there's something else you would like to add?"

Reluctantly, Nick turned to Dylan, who as usual, was standing a small distance away from everyone else. "I was wrong to doubt you, Dylan. I'm sorry for calling you names, and... stuff."

Dylan said nothing, but the look on his face suggested that he had accepted his apology.

"It's good that you two have made up with each other, but..." Dylbert looked up to where the airship was floating, now only to see a grey void of cloud cover. "Team galactic got away with Azelf..."

"And what's worse," Nick added, "It's getting dark, and there's no Pokémon Center for miles!"

"There isn't?" Aaron asked, curious. Nick was always their little tour guide, after all.

"There's Hotel Grand Lake, but that's several hours away. And Veilstone City is still hours away itself. So, what do we do?"

Aaron laughed, which seemed somewhat out of place for him.

"What's so funny?" Nick asked, a little aggravated.

"We're Pokémon now, guys! And where do natural born Pokémon live? In the wild! Out in the forests, in the mountains, in the seas! Not in the luxury of an air conditioned room with soft, silky beds! So..." He picked up the bag which Luke had lost earlier, and slipped it over his own shoulder voluntarily. "Let's ditch the ways of a human and get a first-rate experience of what it's really like to be a Pokémon!"

Luke clenched his fists and shouted in glee. "That's a brilliant idea! Not a bad speech, either, Azz!"

Luke and Aaron walked away, and Dylan, speechless as ever, was soon to follow. Nick and Dylbert could only look at each other in dismay and disbelief. As if they could read each other's minds, they sighed in unison...

"You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

valeforXD: IT"S FINALLY FINISHED! THIS CALLS FOR A SEXY PARTY! *proceeds to dance joyfully amongst scantily clad women, dressed as a sailor*

Whew, that was damn great fun. Aaaahhh... Now, back on topic. I would give my sincerest apologies, but no doubt you've all lost hope in me for breaking my promise of constantly updating, like, every week. But! I am in Year 11, and sometimes life is more important than fiction. A laptop would help, though.

But why am I complaining to you all about my woes? Sorry. I'll try not to do it in **Chapter 26: A Russell in The Wind! **(Yes, another new character. This one is another based on a friend, and they insisted that they be part of my story, purely for the joy of being able to pimp-sap Dylan. We'll see how we go with that without jeopardising the awesomeness of my story...)

-Vale


	26. A Russell in the Wind

valeforXD: Ugh. If I had any credibility points before, I've now lost all of them. This chapter should be particularly... interesting... for lack of a better word, or the courage to say a profanity... But it's not entirely my fault, if the chapter seems a little weird. It's my friend. He requested that he be a part of this chapter, and do some rather menacing things that would force me to up my rating from K+ to T.

Before we begin, I just want everyone to be aware of the poll I have up at the moment. It's to do with the name of the fanfic, and whether or not it should be changed. Please vote and share your opinion!

Well Mewtastic has been looking forward to this, why I don't know, but let's get on with it, and be done with it, so I can get my credibility back.

**************************************************************Chapter 26

Dylbert was first to ask, as they found themselves searching for a good spot to reside for the night. "Um... Why do we have to do this again?"

Aaron, up front of the party as always, emitted a disappointed sigh. "Is it not that obvious? Think about it. This is where wild Pokémon live!" He swept his hand along the air, towards the towering trees and tangled shrubs that lay alongside the rugged path they walked. "If they can live in trees and lakes and wherever else, then I'm sure we can as Pokémon, as well!"

"...That doesn't answer my question..." Dylbert replied longingly.

"It'll be a nice experience," Aaron sighed, dropping his eyes from the sparkling visions they had before.

Dylbert chuckled sarcastically. "A _nice _experience? Sleeping in the cold air with bugs all around us, waiting to tear out our guts and throw them on a silver platter? Oh yeah! That's a _nice _experience!"

"Bugs don't do that," Aaron replied hastily, trying to imagine the image that Dylbert had conjured up. "Most inject venom into your skin that seeps through your body, slowly killing you."

Dylbert was mentally wetting himself, shaking all the while as Aaron described the bringers of his eventual death.

"Of course, most of them were Pokémon. Ariados, for example. And considering recent events, I doubt anything like that is going to happen."

"Can we just change the subject, please?" Dylbert suddenly shouted.

Ignoring Dylbert's plea, but still fulfilling it, Dylan looked up into the sky, his eyes recognising the familiar glow of the full moon. "We should just find somewhere to stay, then."

"There!" Luke pointed obtrusively, his finger indicating an old camp site. There were three logs surrounding an old pile of firewood, long since burned out.

"That's not quite what I meant when I said to live like a Pokémon," Aaron suggested. "It is getting dark, though..." He placed their bag down next to one of the seats. "This will do. Now, seeing as we're all big crybabies who can't stand the cold, I guess we'll want firewood, as well?"

All four of them shook their heads up and down like excited puppies.

"Brilliant. Okay, me, Luke and Nick can go find some, and Dylbert and Dylan can stay here and look after the camp site."

"But why us?" Dylan asked, standing firmly near the pile of charred wood.

"You can't stand on your hind legs, and Dylbert..." Aaron eyed the little chimp, even with the flame on his rear, shivering wildly. Whether it was from being cold or from being scared, Aaron wasn't sure, but knowing him it was most likely both. "Let's just go." Aaron turned away and headed for the thick forest, with Luke and Nick following soon after.

"This is great!" Dylbert suddenly exclaimed when they had left, rocking backward and forward atop a log. "Freezing my butt off, and bugs looking at me from all directions! This is the most fun I've ever had!"

"What about riding the rocket a little while ago?" Dylan asked calmly.

Dylbert imagined back to just a few hours ago, when he was perched atop a moving rocket, flying through the air at supersonic speeds. "Okay, that was fun, and I'm not being sarcastic either." He looked out toward the towering trees, blanketing everything in a dense shadow. "But, this isn't. I mean, something could just jump out from there and attack..."

Dylbert was interrupted as he heard some sort of eerie chanting from within the tree tops. "Russell Russell Russell Russell..."

"What the heck is..."

"PIMP SLAP!"

A shadowy figure with wings lurched out of the trees, soaring through the air, before gliding down towards the surprised Mudkip, and slamming into it with its wing. The Mudkip was taken off its feet, flung through the air and slammed into a tree with brute force, all within the time frame of a mere second!

The figure started laughing. As the moon's light shone upon it, it revealed itself as a Pidgeotto. "Get you every time, don't I, Ditto!"

Ditto. There was only one person in the whole world that referred to him as that pink blob of a manifestation. "Always making a raucous of an entrance, huh, Russell?" Dylan groaned as he hopped back onto his feet.

"Always mustering that blank look on your face, just like a Ditto," Russell replied enthusiastically.

Dylbert ushered the both of them to settle down. "You'll attract all the bugs! Jeez..."

"Look at you, scrawny!" Russell commented, poking Dylbert's furry torso with a floppy feather. "Wow, isn't that a major contradiction? When you were human, you weren't the skinniest person alive!"

"That's real funny, coming from you..." Dylbert replied, albeit weakly. "You weren't much smaller..."

"Do you want me to pimp slap you, too?" Russell held up a sturdy looking wing at the Chimchar, which to him, looked extremely threatening.

"N-no..."

He lowered his wing.

* * *

"He needs to be more of a _man, _you know?" Aaron thought aloud, as he snapped a branch from a short tree using the force of his feet.

Luke was climbing up one of the taller trees, his grippy hands and feet easing the troubles a human would have once had accomplishing the same feat. "I don't see what's wrong with camping out for one night..."

"I guess that's just him," Nick suggested, a decent pile of twigs and a small log or two cradled in his hands. "You can't change someone's personality, can you?"

"Hmm... I guess not..." Aaron jumped on another branch and snapped it in half.

"So, Aaron..." Luke called from up amongst the treetop.

"Yes?"

"What are you going to do when you see Alice?"

The thought hadn't occurred to him for quite some time now. He remembered when Dylan had teased him about it a few nights ago, but since then not much was thought of the subject. "It's sorta private, Luke," He said, a weak substitute for his lack of thought.

"What?" Luke and Nick both cried simultaneously.

Aaron realised his mistake. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that!" He sweatdropped. "But, I guess..." He settled down for a moment and halted his wood-collecting duties to think. "I'll... I guess I'll just be myself. I'll talk to her casually, and tell her how it is."

"...Good choice," Luke cried, scuttling down from the tree with a thick stick in the grasp of his lips. "As corny as it may sound, the best thing to do when you're talking to someone is just to... be yourself," He shrugged.

"Thanks for the advice," Aaron replied, blushing.

* * *

"...And then when we shot that n00b American guy, and we sat there tea-bagging him while he re-spawned, and he starts screaming at us!" Russell bellowed, perched upon one of the small logs that surrounded the camp fire, mindlessly recollecting next to Dylbert.

"Oh, yeah! He was screaming so loud," Dylbert added, "that you messed your pants!"

"Hey, shut up!"

But Dylbert just laughed gleefully, as if for revenge. "Your pants were brown for at least three weeks!"

"I swear to Arceus," Russell gritted through a tightly clenched and seemingly unmoving beak, "that I will pimp slap you if you don't shut up!" He raised his right wing again.

He was pressured to lower it again when he heard the sound of bushes rustling against each other. He, Dylbert and a mildly content Dylan leaned over to see, but were relieved to see a Pikachu emerge, arms full of small pieces of wood. He threw it on the old pile of firewood, before spinning around and eyeing the out-of-place Pidgeotto perched on the log. "Dylan, we leave for ten minutes, and you're already making friends with the local fauna..."

"Local fauna?" Russell exclaimed, leaping from his perch and landing in front of Aaron, flapping his wings all the while. "You would be so moronic as to compare me to the local fauna?"

"Is _moronic_ even a word?" Aaron questioned.

"I don't know, I was just trying to be smart." Russell lowered his head in shame.

* * *

As everyone began to relax themselves against a log and settle down for the night, they shared stories with one another, stories of their supposedly eventful childhood. While Aaron had experienced a life without his own parents and has lived it alone, Russell and Dylbert had nothing to show for themselves except for about 40 achievements on Modern Warfare 2. Well, Dylbert had all the achievements, but that was because he hacked his save, just as he does with every single game. Dylan was silent, as he usually was, but occasionally he made a wisecrack about his mediocre gaming skills, and with a threat from the bird and a raised wing pointed squarely at him, he had kept his mouth shut. Nick thought that he could impress everyone with his extensive knowledge of the Sinnoh region, but no-one really cared about the 'amazing' flora of the area. Luke, of course, was dreaming of Elly, and when they would be seeing each other again back in Jubilife, his home.

Otherwise, it was an uneventful night, at least in comparison to previous nights of kidnappings and angst. Turns out that camping out wasn't such a bad idea after all, even if that wasn't what Aaron's original intention was...

* * *

The sun's light had barely found its way into the sky, yet it seemed that some balloon enthusiasts had already occupied it. The balloon itself looked like a suspiciously camp Meowth, and within its green and basic basket stood two figures dressed In white, one with short blue hair, and one with strikingly long pink hair.

"Where the heck could the Galactic's hideout be, James?" The pink haired woman sighed, leaning lazily out of the basket.

"It must be around here somewhere, Jessie," replied James, the blue haired young man, who leaned against the basket. "We simply must find Meowth, for the life of us!"

"It is simply _booooring _without him..."

James perked up as he noticed a group of Pokémon below, walking along the track without so much as a care in the world. "Hey, Jessie, isn't that..."

Jessie, too, caught sight of the group of Pokémon below them. "Didn't we ambush them back in Chapter, what was it... Chapter 14?"

"Oh my, wasn't that a pre0emptive strike or what?" James proceeded to lower the balloon. "I heard that there is a bounty on that Pikachu's head!"

"So, we've been wasting so many years on that twerp's little Pikachu when we could have waited for this one to come along with a price on its head...?" Jessie began to lose herself in a daydream. "Just imagine! The boss will be working as normal one day, until we burst in the room with that Pikachu in our hands, and say, 'This Pikachu is a special gift from us to you!' And then he turns in the little rodent, and he's basically showering in money!"

The two of them, smiling joyously, began to rub their hands together sinisterly.

"We've always deserved that big raise!"

"We'll be on a cruise liner for days!"

"Well, I just highly doubt that getting a few achievements on Modern Warfare 2 is really an achievement," Luke protested, as they carelessly walked along the oblivious path, "ironic as it may sound."

Russell the Pidgeotto hovered above, only a few inches from their own heads. Clearly, walking was either an issue, or he just liked the idea of flying. "What have you done with your life, then?"

"I have a girlfriend!"

Russell piqued down.

They all piqued down, however, as they saw a balloon shaped like a Meowth land before them. Oddly, there were no signs of life visible in it, at first.

"So, should we do our new, more irritating motto, or our less irritating, more corny but overall better motto?" It was the sound of a male voice emanating from within its plain green basket.

"I've got an idea! Let's do that one we did about Meowth, and kitties, and stuff!" Now it was the sound of a woman.

"It seems pretty contextual... Let's do it! Just tell me when to go!"

"On the count of three! One, two..."

"Wait, _on _three or after three?"

"Exactly on three, you idiot!" Everyone heard a harsh slapping sound, before the chatter continued. "Okay, on three. One, two, three!"

A pink haired woman slowly raised from beneath the walls of the basket, distinguishable due to her white suit, with a noticeable red R on the middle of it. "Prepare for trouble, even if you remember us!"

A blue haired man soon mimicked the actions of her co-operative, wearing a very similar uniform. He was rubbing the back of his head with an ice pack. "And make it double, we don't want any fuss!"

"To protect Meowth from devastation!" The woman continued.

"To unite all kitties within our nation!" The man proceeded, dropping the ice pack.

"To denounce the evils of mice and rats!"

"To extend our reach of serving cats!"

Both of them leaped out of the basket enthusiastically, high into the air, performing an acrobatic back flip before landing squarely on two feet.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Meowth, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender to... Wait, Jessie!"

"James!" Jessie screamed, her face steaming. "You screwed up our motto!"

"I'm just curious! Since when were we Team Meowth?"

Jessie paused for a moment, then immediately got back in character. "Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, FIGHT!"

Team Rocket posed, as usual, and awaited for their well deserved applause. What they got, however, was an awe-struck bunch of Pokémon teenagers with mouths wide open and ready to droop to the floor. (Drop is a violent image)

"Hey! What gives? Why aren't you surrendering?" James panicked.

"Don't tell me they're preparing to fight!" Jessie shrieked.

By the time they had finished, however, the group of Pokémon were already on their way, totally ignoring their questionable excellence.

Jessie grunted, annoyed. "Soon, James, we shall have that little rodent in our grasp! That raise shall be ours!"

"Next time, I get to choose the motto," James replied as he climbed back into the balloon's basket.

* * *

valeforXD: Sigh. This chapter is certainly not up to expectations. Well, at least I am getting somewhere, right?

I'm glad this is finished. And don't worry – if you don't like Russell, then he will be gone in a few chapters, and for a little while. I doubt you will all miss him. Sorry, Russell, really! I promise I'll give you a bigger role in Part 2!

On that note, I would like to point out that I am almost halfway through this part, chapter wise. This I am excited about, because as it draws to a close will my ideas finally be revealed for real, and I think you will enjoy them compared to this...

Anyone curious about Team Rocket's motto in this chapter; it is not my doing, it was used in the anime. Most of it.

Just be glad I updated.

Oh, and Mewtastic, I promise that party is coming. We had some trouble with the soda, and the cake, and Cyrus has been all up close in our grill, and... Sorry. Just sorry. Well, have fun in that dungeon, anyway!

-Vale


	27. Ow, My Appendages!

valeforXD: Okay, here it is. Sorry for the wait. Tell that to pneumonia.

* * *

"I can not believe we did not think of this before!" An eager old scientist beamed as he walked alongside the ever blank-faced Cyrus, down a tall and featureless corridor of steel toward the white lights before them. "It is simply the most beauteous thing my tired old eyes have ever seen! Who knew those lowly men of yours, mentally and physically impaired as they are, could ever hope to bring my ideas to life!" He held out his arms wide, almost knocking Cyrus out.

"You would hope that this works, Charon," Cyrus replied, brushing Charon's arm away. "I have put a great deal of money into this project, and to fail would bring dire consequence with it."

"Oh, Cyrus, of course it will work!" Charon was overly excited, something which seemed out of place for his character. "It's huge! Anything that so much as tries to impose against it would be sooner crushed than to succeed in their endeavour!"

At the end of the corridor, they found themselves in a large hangar, where numerous aircraft smaller than their signature airship lay in waiting. They were all equipped with obtuse weapons and perfectly allocated wings and jets, and all gave off the same shimmering gleam of white. Charon always got goosebumps of happiness whenever he entered the hangar, but this time, he didn't get the immature feeling of satisfaction. Something was amiss.

Cyrus immediately knew something was out of place, as well, when he noticed a huge gap in between two small aircraft.

Charon's left eye was twitching. "It's... it's GONE?"

He dropped to his knees and buried his twitching face in his hands. "The fruits of my labours, all gone..." He lifted his head and unclasped his face, his eye still twitching. "Who could have possibly done this?"

* * *

It was about midday when Aaron and the rest of the ever-expanding entourage of quirks had arrived in Veilstone City. Nick, the ever-present tour guide of Sinnoh, described Veilstone as 'one of the most illogically and inconveniently situated cities in all of the world, considering there's a huge department store there.' He had left out the parts about all of its buildings and inhabitants being situated on rock formations, which did make the city look unique, but hard to navigate.

Within minutes, they were lost.

"Jeez, good going, Nick," Russell the Pidgeotto commented from above them. "You're supposed to have been all around Sinnoh, so why are we lost, then?"

Nick was a little nervous, scanning his eyes around the area. It was difficult to tell one part of the city from another, as it was all dull brown rock. He sighed. "Well, why don't you fly up into the sky and see if you can get us to the Gym, huh?"

"Why would I want to find the Gym?"

Aaron butted in before Nick could get an answer in. "Because I'm going for the Pokémon League Championship, remember?"

"Oh, yeah!" Russell replied sarcastically, before he took to the sky.

Aaron facepalmed himself. "Why is bird brain still tagging along again?"

"Because," Dylbert began, "he is heading back to his holiday house above Solaceon Town."

"Oh, bullshuvism. He couldn't possibly afford to have a holiday house," Aaron laughed.

As if right on cue, Russell firmly landed beside him without so much as a thud, frightening the insultive little Pikachu. "That's because I'm staying with a friend, Aaron." He turned away. "Now, I'll take you to the Gym, if you want."

"Okay..."

The hesitant bird took to the sky for a second time, and the others followed nervously. Dylbert, having been his friend for some time, was well aware of his friend's poor sense of direction, which became clearly evident when the two went camping as younger children. Within minutes of entering the forest nearest Lake Verity, Russell had almost gotten themselves badly injured, when he had searched the trees for food (because he forgot to pack) and managed to awaken a swarm of wild Beedrill. Sure, it's incredibly cliché, but the fact is that Russell isn't the most reliable of navigators, let alone food gatherers. This could well be blamed for his lifestyle, spending his days perched lazily upon his maroon leather lounge, Xbox remote gripped in his sweaty hands, tongue hanging loose out of his lips, bloodshot eyes ever frowning upon the light of the television.

Surprisingly, though, Russell had led them in the right direction. Perched atop the small mountain before them was an old wooden building with a big Poké Ball logo on the front, coloured in a fruity pink. It looked distinctly Japanese, though; the stereotypical red-tiled roof, statues of Medicham and Hariyama sitting atop tall pedestals on either side of the yellow Shoji screen door... Perhaps a helicopter had flown to Japan and air lifted it across to... Hmm, that's a bit difficult. Japan and Sinnoh do not exist in the same world. Well, you get the idea.

Russell landed right between Aaron and Dylbert without warning, as they all stared upon the Gym. "Alright, you've seen it. Do you maybe, uh, want to go in?" He asked, clearly growing impatient.

It seemed Aaron was lost in a daze, as when Russell spoke, he spastically shook his head and growled, sort of. "Of course, Russ. The Gym Leader awaits!"

Inside was exactly what one would come to expect from a Japanese building, if one had experienced the stereotypical world of television. Through the Shoji door was, unsurprisingly, a Shoji room, a fairly small room probably not much bigger than an office cubicle. Russell, of course, had to comment; "Jeez, this is a pretty small Gym!" He trotted up towards the opposite end of the room and stuck out a wing. "How are you supposed to battle in such a tiny room when the walls are paper thin?" He began to lightly slap the wall with his outstretched wing to prove his obvious point.

"That's because," Dylan began, still in the doorway, "that wall is another-"

A sudden ripping noise interrupted him; Russell's wing had managed to penetrate the supposed wall.

Dylan sighed. "...Door..."

Through the hole sat a figure who seemed to be in a state of meditation, and succeeding, as it hovered calmly in the air. It hovered in the exact centre of a battle arena, the floor coloured an unsuspecting maroon, the walls the same material as that of what Russell had just broken. When the creature opened its eyes, it lowered itself to the ground, unfolding its legs and lowering its arms. Its eyes opened, and diluted red pupils pierced into Russell like a knife, causing him to leap back with fluttering wings.

Aaron recognised it as a Lucario instantly, though the red eyes set him off a little – it certainly wasn't normal for this Pokémon to have such eyes. But, then again, he did battle a dark green Turtwig back in Eterna.

For the first time, the Lucario spoke. And everyone got quite a shock out of this...

"What the heck did you do that for?" It screamed in a feminine voice as it flailed its arms around maniacally, prompting everyone to fall flat on the floor comically. "Don't you know that those Shoji doors cost a lot of money?"

As everyone stood back up, the Lucario settled down. "What brings you all here, anyway?" She said, still a little annoyed.

Luke pushed Aaron forward with a quick shove. Slightly embarrassed, he scratched the back of his neck. "Well, sorry about the door, and all, but it seems that some people really know how to exaggerate the term 'bird brain...'" He eyed Russell sharply, who shrugged with disbelief. "But, anyway, my name Is Aaron, and I challenge you to a gym battle!"

Uncharacteristically, the Lucario's face beamed with excitement. "Oh, finally! It's been so long since I've had a battle! And... you're Aaron, too! That Aaron who has been travelling all around Sinnoh chasing Team Galactic!"

"Uh, yeah...?"

She began to jump like a little girl, undoubtedly excited, but stopped when she realised something. "Oh, and by the way, my name is Maylene."

* * *

Skipping the now commonplace ritual of explaining the new rules and accepting that the challenger is no doubt going to be put in harm's way, the battle was ready to begin. As usual, both contenders – Aaron, who was combing his ears back, and Maylene who was posing herself in a battle-ready position – stood on opposite ends of the arena.

At first, Maylene wasn't doing a thing; she simply shut her eyes and kept herself still, which was unlike most Gym Leaders Aaron had encountered. _She's up to something, _Aaron thought. _If I attack her, she's gonna go epic crazy on me... I should wait it out and see what she's up to._

So he did. He stood there and waited, too, albeit with his eyes open, staring at the Lucario who ignored him with closed eyes.

It was after a minute that Aaron decided that was enough. "Screw this, I'm going for it!"

He recklessly charged for her and launched into the air, his tail lighting up the usual shade of white as he did so, and flipped in the air before attempting to slam his tail down on his waiting opponent.

Only moments before did Maylene's eyes snap open. As he was about to pummel her to the ground, she jumped out of the way so quickly that Aaron didn't notice until he had struck the ground. Then, before he had time to react, she had already appeared behind him, and grabbed the back of his furry little head with her whole palm. A blue flame-like substance soon encompassed it, and Aaron could feel a pain like no other, as if it was attempting to crush his skull, and he couldn't help but to cry out in pain. Maylene probably would have felt sorry for him, had she not been concentrating on her attack.

Then, with one hell of a build-up of a battle cry, she let it all loose; shock waves emitted from her paw, and almost instantaneously Aaron went flying across the room, slamming harshly into the wall and even rebounding a metre or so, and as usual landing on his face.

"That would be a Lucario's aura," Luke explained from the sidelines. "Supposedly, all lifeforms have some kind of aura within them, but no-one like a Lucario can concentrate it and use it as an offensive."

He pulled himself to his hands and knees slowly, and found that Maylene was already staring him down from above. "Ha! Detect never lets me down!" She boasted. "Now watch this!" She raised her clenched paw high into the air, then brought it down as fast as she could – but Aaron was fast enough to roll out of the way. Maylene's paw instead smashed into the ground – literally _into _the ground, causing the earth around her to crack and spread away from her.

Aaron groaned. "Aww, jeez, Earthquake!"

Thinking quick, he leaped into the air before the quake could seriously hurt him, given type match-ups, but he had nowhere else to land... Until he eyed his opponent.

Maylene gasped as she felt the small, furry hands of her opponent grab the appendages hanging from the back of her head, pulling her back. "Ack! What on... Gah! Just... Nnnnngggghhhh!" She began shouting incomprehensibly, but grew even more annoyed when Aaron began kicking her in the back!

"You think that's annoying? Watch this!" With one final shove, the Pikachu launched himself backwards and into the air. Sparks flying from his cheeks, he launched a Thunderbolt straight for his stunned opponent.

Maylene was quick to use Detect – she had disappeared in the blink of an eye, and reappeared directly behind him, both of them hanging in the air for what seemed like ages.

But Aaron was not disappointed. In fact... "Wrong move!" With one long cry, he swung around and pummelled into Maylene's face with a hard-hitting Thunderpunch. Electricity was trailing flawlessly from his fist as it slowly slipped away from her face, which seemed to be trailing a little bit of blood.

Both managed to land squarely on their feet, although Maylene needed to support herself with her left arm as well. She looked hurt, but she was acting fine, if a little breathless. "Hmm... You're quite quick on and off your feet, huh?" A little blood dripped from her mouth and down her muzzle.

Aaron just smiled, barely hurt as it seemed; his fur was a little scruffed up above his forehead.

Maylene smiled right back. "Well, I'm not quite finished yet!" She lunged forward, her own fist becoming surrounded in the same ominous flame as before. Aaron rolled out of the way, but Maylene was quite aware that he would try to dodge, and so she grabbed his tail firmly. She began to spin... "Ha ha ha! Who's surprising who... NOW?" She shouted, as she stopped spinning and let go of the poor rodent's tail and sent him flying straight for the wall, again!

_Aaron! Stay calm! _He told himself. _You can get out of this!_

Before the wall could collide with his much needed face, he spun around and let his feet take its place, before launching himself off the wall. His fist was surrounded by a flowing trail of electricity again, as he launched his own fist for his opponent again... Only to have her disappear before he could land the hit. His fist smashed into the ground, causing massive chunks of it to lift up and hover around him.

Maylene reappeared in the air, her fist once again surrounded by the blue flame, ready to launch another Force Palm.

CRASH!

She stopped. "What was..." She got an answer before she even finished the question, as a substantial hole gazed right back at her, with what seemed to be a huge, metal face peeping in.

Aaron soon landed amongst the rubble. It was digging into his skin, so he pushed it away and climbed out... Only to be greeted by a huge robot of some kind holding the roof to Maylene's gym. The robot seemed quite plain, coated in a shiny silver, but had traces of blue all over it, from the blue visor on the head to the blue-coated feet to even the blue antenna that protruded out of its head.

"Holy Arceus, what the heck did I miss?"

As if to answer his question, a hideous and feminine laughter boomed out of what was supposed to be the mouth, but looked more like the front grill to a Cadillac CTS. "Listen, is that a voice I hear?"

Now a male voice boomed out the Cadillac grill. "It's speaking to me loud and clear!"

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"In your ear!" They both cried as the rotation began again.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"

"dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet..."

"When every thing's worse, our work is com-"

"HOLD IT!"

The duo stopped, as an aggravated Pikachu stood before them, arms outstretched. "Who the hell are you to have the nerve to smash your way into this gym and interrupt our battle?" He shouted, as the others joined him from alongside him.

"Uh..." The woman's voice stumbled. "Well, we weren't quite... Now hang on!" The robot pointed a big sausage of a finger directly at Aaron. "Who the hell are YOU to interrupt our motto?"

"After you just broke in? Ha, that's rich!" Maylene interrupted. "Just how much do you think this Gym is worth, huh? A few thousand? Hm?"

"Hey, lady," The man butted in, "We're not here to do maths! I dropped out of school in the seventh grade!"

Aaron was getting tense. "It was Jessie, and James, wasn't it?"

"What's it to you, bub?" Jessie growled.

"What on Earth would you two want with a lowly little Pikachu like me?" He asked, lowering his voice considerably.

"Lowly? Hah! I beg to differ! We heard that you got a price on your head!"

James jumped in. "They don't care if they get you alive or dead!"

And with the unnecessary rhyming, they pulled the giant robot's fist back. "And we think it would be much easier for everyone if we pummelled you into the ground first!" The fist lunged forward at a great speed, and Aaron could only crouch down into a ball and cower for his very life...

* * *

valeforXD: This chapter made me tired. Why? I wrote it during the night when I could have been sleeping. Gah! Blast it all! Well, anyway, enjoy the chapter. It's not much, but we are getting close to the stuff that I really want to share with you, the stuff that I have been waiting to share with you all for a long time. So until next time, enjoy yourself until the time comes when **Chapter 28: Firing the Canon **hits the shelves! Metaphorically speaking, of course.


	28. Firing the Canon

Vale: Here's the proper Chapter 28 to replace the old one where I complained about whatever. Now that I finally have my laptop, the one that I said I was getting months ago but only just got for Christmas, I have constant access to a computer, which means more opportunities to get writing! Oh, and lots of Knytt Stories. Have you played that? That game is awesome.

Oh, and Merry Belated Christmas! Now, let's get on with it.

******************************************Chapter 28

"What on Earth would you two want with a lowly little Pikachu like me?" He asked, lowering his voice considerably.

"Lowly? Hah! I beg to differ! We heard that you got a price on your head!"

James jumped in. "They don't care if they get you alive or dead!"

And with the unnecessary rhyming, they pulled the giant robot's fist back. "And we think it would be much easier for everyone if we pummelled you into the ground first!" The fist lunged forward at a great speed, and Aaron could only crouch down into a ball and cower for his very life...

...So, then, why did he still stand?

He leered a single eye through his fingers, catching a momentary glimpse of a blur of blue rushing past, slamming into the mecha's giant fist.

The blue blur leaped to Aaron's side, revealing itself as Dylan, his Mudkip friend. "Just who the hell do you think you are, charging around in some oversized robot and wrecking up the place?"

Everybody sweatdropped.

Noticing, Dylan pitched forward. "It's about time I stopped standing around and watching everyone do everything else, while I be all mopey about it! valeforXD ought to be ashamed of himself, making me such a drab character!" He steadied himself, triumphantly roaring. "It's about time I stood up for the little man, and take my rightful place in this fanfic, like the badass that I am!"

Aaron's brain nearly fell out of his head and crawled away, hearing this. "Uh, badass? Are you sure that's... appropriate for you?"

"You don't think I can do it?" He straightened up even further. "Well then let me show you!" He pooched his lips a little, and water forcefully burst out of his mouth, striking the mecha's chest and making it topple backward and out of sight.

Dylan rushed out the front door, with Aaron, Luke and everyone else tailed him until they were outside. They found that the mecha was sprawled across the rocky incline that the Gym stood atop, scratching its head as if it were human.

"I have an idea,' Luke sniggered. "We just gotta get the big robot to shoot a rocket, then, just like when we were fighting Saturn, we jump on and steer it and-" He stretched his arms out wide suddenly - "BOOM! Gone!"

"Do they have rockets?" Aaron asked, as the mecha began to stand.

"I dunno, I'll ask." He cupped his hands around his mouth and began to shout. "HEY! TEAM ROCKET! DO YOU HAVE ROCKETS IN THAT THING? I MEAN, THE ROCKET THAT BLOWS STUFF UP, THAT IS!"

"No!" Jessie screeched. "We don't need rockets when we have such gigantic fists!" Now that they were standing upright the mecha lunged forward, fist pulled back, then launched it forward at a blinding speed, plunging it right into the ground and forcing chunks of concrete up and out of the earth.

Luke pouted angrily. "Sorry I asked."

"We do, however," James started excitedly, "have machine guns! Machine guns are always fun!" Both arms of the mecha stretched right out in front of them, and several cylinders began to appear out of its wrists. In an instant, bullets trailed by thin smoke shot straight for them; there was no time to jump out of the way, so they were left dancing around like hyperactive little children, their feet dancing to an out-of-beat tune. Although, Russell was already airborne and out of harm's way.

Amid the frantic dancing and bullet-dodging, Nick came up with an idea. "Russell! Stop being a coward and get down here!"

"No way!" Russell squawked from above.

"Russell, get down here now or else your tail feathers are history! As well as your precious Xbox!"

The pudgy bird immediately swooped down and within an instant had swooped up the little crocodile Pokemon onto his back without so much as a scrape from the continuous rain of bullets. "Now what, tough guy?"

Nick grinned. "Get me on its back!"

"What?" Russell shrieked. "Why?"

"Don't you watch cartoons? Most robots have some sort of control panel at the back that you can break open and screw with, shutting the thing down!"

Russell hovered over the mecha's head as the Totodile leaped off his back, clinging desperately onto the back of it. After a small search he found a panel no bigger than himself, so without hesitation he slammed his rock-hard head into it. The first time it left a large dent; the second time the panel became unstuck from the big metal mass, and Nick turned to watch it fall to the concrete below. Luckily, Team Rocket hadn't noticed, seemingly concentrated on shooting aimlessly.

When he turned back to the hole he had just made, he almost lost his grip in surprise.

There was a big cannon staring him in the face!

"Aww, son of a-"

But before he could finish his own profanity, the cannon began to inhale air very powerfully, trying to pull in whatever it could find. Nick tried to hold on, but it was no use; the cannon was too powerful, and he soon found himself being sucked down...

Seconds later, after he had been zooming down some incredibly narrow tunnel, a solid object struck his head and stopped him in his tracks. He stood up, rubbing his throbbing little head, and seeing a large glass wall in front of him. He spun around, noting he was surrounded by three other metal walls, and found there was no way out through them. "Am I inside that thing?" He needlessly asked himself.

Up above, Jessie was furious. "Gah! We don't need no stinking Totodile!" She bellowed, smashing her fists aimlessly at the controls. "We need that Pikachu, or our big bucks balloon bursts!"

The glass wall slid up and open, but before Nick could even make a leap for freedom, a mechanical boot zoomed down from the ceiling, pulled back a little, then launched itself straight for the crocodile Pokemon's behind. Before he knew what had happened, he found himself flying straight into an awe-struck Aaron, both toppling over onto the pavement.

Aaron hastily pushed Nick off of himself, standing up and dusting himself off. "I swear, you all have a grudge against me or something," He mumbled, shaking himself a bit. "Somehow I always end up with my face in th-AAAHHH!"

Before he finished his remark, a mechanical hand outstretched itself from Team Rocket's mecha and latched onto the rude rodent, and with a quick flick of its tentacle-like wrist, hurled it towards the mobile prison in which Nick recently found himself.

And before he could react to the slamming of his head into the wall, two more mechanical hands – much smaller this time – latched onto the sacs on either side of his face. He winced as their sharp fingers pinched his fur.

"Every now and then," James began to explain, his words emitted from a seemingly non-existent source in the room; "Our little robot requires a recharge. So what better way to give it a recharge than to use a miserable rodent such as yourself! We're jacking the juices straight from your sacs as we speak!"

Ignoring the less-than subtle and probably not intended innuendo, Aaron grimaced. James was right; he felt his whole body gradually become lighter and lighter. Who knew electricity weighed so much?

Jessie's voice bellowed into the room this time. "Try all you might, you little rat, but you're not going anywhere!"

"Yeah, well just watch me!" Aaron cried. Even though he was steadily having electricity sapped from him, he figured he could still use a Thunderbolt attack, and it seemed the only way to go. He charged up as much electricity as he had, and unleashed it as hard as he could. The whole room lit up a spectacular yellow, a marvellous sight for by-standers, as he attempted to escape.

Yet, nothing happened.

He tried to let off, to stop his Thunderbolt, but now the hands were absorbing at a much faster rate, and he couldn't stop his own attack! Try as he might, he couldn't stop himself as he forcefully supplied energy to his captor.

Above, Jessie and James were celebrating, throwing confetti around the place and popping bottles of champagne open. "Finally! All our waiting has paid off! That raise is a sure thing!" Jessie exclaimed with glee, grabbing James by the hands and twirling each other around.

"We'll practically be _living _on that cruise liner!" James replied, dancing around in the confetti.

Their celebration was cut remarkably short, however, when they heard a distinct beeping emitted from the control panel. They both looked at each other, before the place was engulfed in flames.

Only Arceus knows what happened next, for the chaos proved too... chaotic to keep up with. All we know is that Jessie and James were left lying on top of a huge, smoking pile of scrap metal, and Aaron was left lying before Luke and the others. "You okay, Azz?" Luke asked worriedly, prodding Aaron's cheek with a stubby little finger, only to receive a small electric shock afterward.

Upon receiving the prodding, Aaron opened his eyes, and rose steadily to his feet. "You know," He started, "Don't help or anything."

"Well, it looked like you had it under control," Dylan replied, for once standing at the front of the group. "I mean, all you had to do to take it down and make it explode into a billion fiery pieces was a Thunderbolt..."

"Hey, I took down a fifteen foot tall robot all by myself," Aaron replied, pointing a finger rudely at the Mudkip, "and if that isn't a sign of my manliness then you're gay."

Suddenly, Jessie and James were towering over them, leering at them like Justin Beiber haters. "Look, you little rat!" Jessie bellowed. "You better come with us right now and turn yourself in, or there will be very dire consequences!"

Aaron spun around, at first disoriented by the humans' height, but shrugged it off, and announced an attack plan. "Let's gang up on 'em and send 'em packing!"

The five of them – save Russell – sprang into formation, lined up across the pavement, readying themselves.

Aaron grinned. "Get 'em!" He cried, as they sprang into action, all releasing attacks upon the evil duo.

"Ice Beam!" Nick shouted, forcing an incredibly cold burst of ice from his maw.

"Flamethrower!" Dylbert cried, unleashing a burst of searing flame from his mouth.

"Water Pulse!" Dylan exclaimed, as blue ultrasound waves forced themselves from his forehead.

"Bullet Seed!" Luke shouted, as glowing yellow seeds sprayed forcefully from his mouth like a shower of bullets.

And with what little energy he had left, Aaron topped it off; he forced as much electricity as he could from his sacs as he shouted, "Thunderbolt!"

Their separate attacks weaved into one giant energy burst, that gunned straight for Jessie and James. All of a sudden, there shined a bright blast of white, and Team Rocket were sent blasting through the sky, with the others watching them go from safe ground.

"I think I heard them say something," Dylbert queried, scratching his head.

"It sounded like..." Dylan started, then paused for a moment; "Look, there's a pocket in my... underpants?"

"That's what a normal person says when they fly into the air after they get owned by a bunch of little Pokemon..." Aaron commented.

* * *

Maylene held out a shiny Gym badge in her paw that gleamed in the setting sun's light. "I guess you proved yourself out there today against those hooligans," She said, "So you, Aaron, are more than deserving of this."

Aaron lapped it up out of her paw and held it in his own, the shine of the badge almost blinding him. "Sweet!" Was all he could really say.

And, with that, the six of them headed to the Pokemon Center, and got a good night's rest.

...

What? Were you expecting something? This is what they call fake out.

valeforXD: Bit rough on the edges, but that's only because I haven't written it for so freakin' long! So much has happened since my last (proper) update. I got the laptop I said I was going to get, so now I can finally write this at my own leisure without my brothers haunting me for the computer so that they may talk to their precious girlfriends on Facebook.

But don't worry. After a little while, I'll be writing much better chapters, just as I was before. I'll also be updating much more often – in fact, you can probably expect a weekly update again! "But Vale," you say, "You said this before and you ended up not updating for almost three months!" I say shut up troll. "You're fake and gay!" You'll say. I'll say watch your mouth or I'll throw a chair at it. Yes, at YOUR MOUTH.


	29. Alice

valeforXD: Time to check my reviews! Wait... What's this? As ever, it's only one... no, wait, two people. Lazy bums. Well, in any case, thank you to Jenakin Ramsobi for his reviews that provided some criticism, though it is to be understood that He. Loves. This. Story. Glad to know that I have made someone the least bit happy. (Team Rocket can't _not _be human, though. That's just silly.)

What? Oh, Mewtastic! No, you don't count this time, because you reviewed my "This is my huge excuse as to why I have not updated for yonks" chapter. And yes, it was all true! *pouts*

SecretDisguise gets special mention too for also liking _Divine Intervention, _and providing a decent review too! Though I thought it was Nick and Dylan that were arguing, unless I'm forgetting...? Ah well. At least this means if this were IGN, my story would be as good as SSBB!

Oh, and further extended apologies to markzilla6895, whose character was planned to be put in very soon, but has had to be put in later.

On a further note, Dylbert, Nick and Dylan (DYLB3RT1993, killerdude035 and SpawnXD) have pretty much nothing to do with FanFiction anymore, so feel free to badmouth them as much as you want. But not Luke. He's cool. Anyway, on with the show!

***********************************************************************Chapter 29

He was unenthusiastic about talking to her now. Yesterday, or the day before, even, he was exaggerating just how joyous and confident at the idea he was, and no one or nothing would take that happiness away from him. But now he loathed the idea; he just wanted to skip her house altogether. He wanted to keep his distance, to keep the butterflies roaming around inside at bay. Maybe it was because he had rarely had the opportunity to talk to a girl in his life, but it didn't matter of the cause; he just wanted the repellent to make it all go away.

A voice broke Aaron out of his mindless trance. "Well, here we are!"

Anxiously, he looked up, and laid eyes upon an old-fashioned house, with polished patios lining the bricked walls of the building, topped off with a mansard roof indulged in dancing leaves that had fallen from the towering trees enveloping it.

"Damnit! I want a refund!" He suddenly shouted.

This, of course, attracted everyone's fixed stares. "What are you on about, Aaron?" Russell asked awkwardly.

Aaron rubbed the back of his head, mortified. "Sorry. I made an insect spray analogy a second ago, and, um... Wait, Russell, you're staying here?"

Russell perked up tall and proud. "Of course! This is where my... ahem... girlfriend lives..." He lowered an eyebrow at the mortified rodent.

Said rodent expanded on his analogy, claiming that the so-called repellent just took a little while for it to kick in and start working, as the butterflies had finally stopped tickling his stomach. Anxiety was quickly replaced by the deepest of jealousies, and he began to stride right up to the door. "Allow me to get the door for you, Romeo," Was all he said as he zoomed past the confused bird, up the patio and towards the front door.

Luke was soon to follow, but leaned towards Russell as he passed. 'You picked the wrong girl, buddy," He whispered as he strolled past, but the Pidgeotto was much too bemused to notice.

Without hesitation, Aaron tapped a little paw against the polished wooden door. And within seconds, the door creaked slowly open, revealing another Pikachu. This one was shorter than he was, and the heart-shaped tail told him immediately that it was a girl.

No doubt about it. It was Alice.

As soon as he saw her, the butterflies returned; jealousy faded, and Aaron became speechless and dumbfounded. He tried to form words, to show some sign of intelligence to her, but nothing came out.

Alice, however, was quick to react. "What are you doing here, Aaron?" She asked, almost as confused as Russell was. When Aaron still didn't reply, she became aggravated. "You jerk! I left you several messages on your answering machine! Why didn't you call back?"

He snapped out of his mindless trance. "...You left me messages...?"

"Of course!" She snapped, though in a lower tone of voice. She folded her arms and continued. "I felt kinda bad when you asked me out and I just totally ignored you... So, I left you several messages, and you didn't answer any of them...!"

At first, Aaron was – just like everyone else – confused, but then it came back to him...

* * *

"_You've reached the mental hotline. If you have dyslexia, please press 69696969 in quick succession. ...Nah, just kidding. This is Aaron, and unfortunately I can't come to the phone right now, so just leave me a message and I'll get back to you!" _BEEP!

"_Hello? Aaron? Oh, you mustn't be there. Um... It's me, Alice. Listen, sorry for ignoring you today... I don't know what came over me... But, you seem pretty nice, and you look cute, so maybe you can come over to my place sometime? Just gimme a call when you get this, okay?"

* * *

_

"_Hey, Aaron, it's me again, Alice. I guess you probably have a lot to do lately, and I understand, but the holidays are coming up, and I'm heading down to the beach on the first day, so maybe you'd like to come with? Just give us a call back if you can."

* * *

_

"_Listen, Aaron, I can truly understand if you're too busy to socialize. But you could still give me a call! Look, I'm going to the fair this weekend, if you wanna tag along. And please call back this time."

* * *

_

Of course, as luck would have it, Aaron's Pikachu had leapt through the window, and Aaron himself had burst through the front door a second later, chasing after the playful mouse – right as the message had stopped recording. As luck would have it, Pikachu had leapt up onto the kitchen counter to evade his pursuer, and in doing so accidentally trod on the answering machine's delete button.

So, yes, he had a very good explanation.

"Well," Alice sighed, unimpressed; "It's too late, Aaron. I just happened upon this big hunk called Russell, and from the moment I set eyes upon him, I was madly in love with him!"

"Until you found out that he had become a fat, lazy slob who sat on his ass everyday playing poor Transformers movie tie-ins on his Xbox and feeding on potato chips until he had become more bloated than an overweight Wailmer, I hope," Aaron replied sadistically.

"Oh, so you do understand...?"

"Understand...?" This caught Aaron off guard quite easily. "You agree?"

Alice sniffled quietly. "Well, I thought..."

But she was rudely interrupted when a certain someone literally stuck their beak in between them. "Hey! Alice, baby! Long time no see! Did ya miss me or what?" Russell began to lean toward Alice's face, beak puckered up as much as a beak could possibly be puckered up, but stopped centimetres short of her face, realising something. "Eheheh... I'd give you a peck on the cheek, but that would probably hurt..." He leaned back.

"...Good to see you too, Russ," Alice replied with a hint of unease in her voice. She noticed all the Pokemon behind them, and decided to comment. "Are these all your friends?"

"Friends," Russell began in a dominant tone; "is an overstatement. Aaron and Dylbert, maybe, but not the other three. No way in Sinnoh."

"So, if we go to Unova, then...?" Luke asked, as he and the others trotted up the stairs and up onto the patio.

Russell ignored Luke's wise guy comment, and focused on his love. "So, mind if we come in, then? I'm kinda hungry."

"Sure. I got meat loaf leftover from last night, and there should be plenty for all of you." She signalled for everyone to follow her inside, and Luke was the first to oblige, excited at the prospect of more meat loaf, though hopefully this time he wouldn't regurgitate it like he had been, ever since he became a Treecko.

The interior of the house was, to Aaron at least, wondrous; the walls were painted a brilliant sea blue, and hanging from the walls and sitting in cabinets were countless antiques and heirlooms; clocks, mini figurines, statues and sculptures, of human and Pokemon alike. In the middle of the room was a dining table – though most of the chairs were taller than usual, obviously, to accommodate the large populace of smaller Pokemon nowadays – neatly lined with a soft white cloth. "Alice, this place is great!" he exclaimed suddenly, still struggling to take in all the sights. "Where on Earth did all this stuff come from...?"

Alice blushed, though it was hard to tell with her already red cheeks. "We... My mum and dad, I mean... They have a lot of money, and they love collecting stuff like this. They're always at antique shows and stuff like that. Infact, that's where they are now. They went to Pastoria City to go to the antique show there."

"Well, I am impressed! This house is amazing. My place has got nothing on this..."

Russell, clearly getting impatient, stepped in. "Don't get your hopes up, buddy. There's no TV or anything."

"Dude, you don't need a TV when your house is this awesome," Luke replied, examining the figure of Groudon in one of the cabinets.

"Well, this is only our holiday house, actually," Alice replied, somewhat embarrassed. "Our house back in Jubilife City isn't as great..." She turned for the kitchen. "But let's just forget I said anything about anything! I'm kinda hungry now." She made another signal for the others to head into the kitchen. "Would you all mind just waiting in there? The meat loaf is in the oven, it'll just be a minute, and then you can help yourselves when it's ready."

She smiled as everyone headed for the kitchen, but as Aaron was about to follow suit, Alice grabbed him by the fur on the back of his neck, and pulled him back into the room.

She appeared worried. "Are you okay, Alice?" Aaron asked, sharing her worried look.

She took him further back into the room, behind the dining table, so nobody would hear them. "I don't know what to do..." She muttered, when she was sure the others were preoccupied.

"About what?" Aaron asked quietly.

"About Russell."

Aaron nodded in realisation, but gave her a queer look, confused as to how to proceed.

"What should I do? He's become so lazy and self-centered..."

He didn't want to do this, but he didn't want to seem desperate, either. "Maybe, if he flew all – well, _most _of the way here, then he still truly loves you, even if he is a lazy slob who just wants to play his Xbox all day long."

She still looked troubled.

"He's still a... err... how to put this... He's still..." Aaron began to struggle; every moral fibre in his body was attempting to prevent him from saying this one word; "..._passionate_ about your relationship, isn't he?"

At that moment Russell stepped into the room, looking livid and irritated. "Hey! Stop making out with every boy you meet, and get in here and make me my damn meat loaf!" And with that, he departed for the kitchen again.

_Passionate? Whatever. More like intolerant. _"Dump him."

"Wha...?"

"He just insulted you in the worst way, Alice! He demanded you get back in the kitchen! That is incredibly sexist! Doesn't it bother you at the least that he just demanded you get in there and serve his food?"

"Well, yeah..."

"And how many times has he done that before?"

"Dear Arceus, you're right. I'll talk to him after lunch."

* * *

The meal was soon ended. Luke, as expected, was in the bathroom as the meat loaf obviously didn't agree with him; the others, however, now rested leisurely in the main room. Russell, however, was acting rather odd. He had nestled himself in front of one of the glass cabinets and stared vacantly into his reflection for a minute or so. As Dylbert was about to ask what he was doing, or whether he was so incredibly narcissistic that he needed to blankly stare at his face as a form of senseless entertainment, he held out a wing to the confused orange monkey.

"Here, you can be second player."

Dylbert sweatdropped. "Really? You have nothing better to do than pretend you're playing the Xbox?"

Russell nodded impatiently, and the oblivious monkey snatched the invisible remote from his grasp.

Meanwhile, Alice had walked over to behind where Russell was sitting. She stood there for a while, biting her nails for a minute or so, but she finally worked up the courage to tap him on the shoulder. As you could imagine, he stood up, threw his "remote" to the floor, and shouted in the most profane way possible; "What the hell do you want? Can't you see we are owning those freakin' Russians?"

Alice grew uneasy. "Well, Russell, I... Um..."

"This better be important! You're always nagging me for every single little thing..."

"Um... I think we need to... Um..."

"I think you need to get back in the kitchen! Now leave me alone! Those Russians need a cap in their ass."

_Back in the kitchen? _That was it. A nerve must have popped, because Alice was gnashing her teeth, and her eye was twitching. "That's it, Russell! I have had enough!"

The feeling of dominance soon dropped, and a sudden fear took over, as Russell began to cower.

"I have had it!" Alice shouted furiously, clenching her fists and creeping ever closer towards her so-called boyfriend. "You're always telling me to make your meals, or wash your clothes, or clean up your mess, while you toil away in front of those stupid video games! I want you out of my house and out of my life!"

The fear left Russell, as he noticed everyone was watching, so he decided to take the role as the dominant male of the relationship again. "Jeez! Psyche up! What are you gonna do to me? Gimme a little slap on the face?" He cackled, as best a teenager could possibly cackle. "I am so scared! Ooohh!" He waved his wings around in front of his face, and began to make fairly unattractive faces at her.

True, she didn't have the upper body strength to take Russell on. But, she did have one thing on him. "Yeah? Well, who has the type advantage?"

Russell began to back away, as he noticed the sparks flying out of her cheeks. "Oh yeah? Well... Uh... Whatever! I'm leaving you!" He bolted for the door. "And I'm telling everyone I broke up with you!" And with a flap of his wings, he had taken off into the air and out of sight.

Aaron, who had been standing in the doorway watching that little episode, clapped his hands. "Good job, Alice. Now he'll stop hogging all your bandwidth while he's on Xbox Live."

"But I don't have the internet here..."

He smiled. "Exactly."

* * *

It was late in the afternoon, so Alice had agreed to let the boys stay the night. It was fairly uneventful, apart from the hours that they spent documenting their adventure so far. Alice had already known of their adventure, but as there was little other source of entertainment within the premises, she accepted the invitation to listen in, and the afternoon faded away with their glamorized recounting.

And at around ten that night, Aaron curled up on the couch and began to slip into a deep sleep. It wasn't before Alice had snuggled up to him, though. Whether it was because she had feelings for him, or because she wanted to share his warmth, he couldn't tell, as he was already too sleepy to think about it. He drifted off into sleep.

* * *

_Hello, Aaron. _

"Oh, damn! I was havin' a really good dream, too!" Aaron found he was floating again, and, confirming his surroundings, was in that same black void again. "Is there something so important to share that you have to ruin my dream about eating a big ice cream cake shaped like an Emolga?"

Two dull yellow eyes appeared before him, surrounded by glowing red. _Well, perhaps. I was just, as you humans say, 'checking in' to see how well you were doing._

"Fine, I guess."

_Nothing to discuss, hmm?_

"Can't really say there is..."

_Well, I heard you took out a very large mechanical giant just yesterday. Very impressive._

"That was nothing, really..." He was rubbing his arm softly.

_You know, a lot of people are really appreciating what you are doing, Aaron._

"Yeah?"

_Yes, most certainly. A young hero, sacrificing his own body and soul to preserve the rest of humanity, or in your case, Pokemanity... You would have realised that by now, surely?_

"Well, I'm not that great, even if I am being modest-" He stopped short. "Wait, hold on a sec. What's this sacrifice about?"

_I'm sorry?_

"'A young hero, sacrificing his own body and soul to preserve the rest of humanity...? I'm sorry to say," He began to snap, "But you never said anything about no sacrifice!"

There was an awkward silence, before Kyogre let out a long, exhausted sigh.

"If there was a sacrifice involved, why didn't you just tell me in the first place?"

Another sigh, but afterwards, Kyogre spoke. _I thought you were aware of this... When we communicated with each other en route to Pastoria City, you said nothing would stop you from rescuing your Pokemon. That you knew about the sacrifice was implied, at least I believed it was implied._

Aaron groaned, and folded his arms. "Well what is this 'sacrifice' I have to make, then?"

_Well, assuming your ignorance on the situation, this shall be very difficult to explain. You see, when an Annuler – as beings with the Annulment are called – uses their power to erase the designated target from existence, the Annulment causes them to behave differently. It is not long before the Annuler begins to express very drastic and violent emotions, and act in a violent way. The Annuler becomes uncontrollable, and all-powerful. As to why, we do not have the slightest idea, but as such, the Annuler must be erased himself. _

Aaron winced at the mere mention of the word _erased;_ emotions were beginning to stir, some of misery and defeat, but mostly of anger and resentment. "No!" He suddenly exclaimed, his glossy eyes swelling up with tears. "No! This isn't possible... This can't be... It just isn't possible!" He threw a fist angrily out in front of him, as of to take his anger out on an invisible object. "Why did it have to be..." He sniffled, and punched air again. "_Why did it have to be ME?"_

_We had no choice in the matter. Except in the rarest of occasions, the decision to make an Annuler of a newborn is entirely random, and out of our control._

"Well, undo it, then! You're legendaries! You guys can do pretty well anything!"

_It is not possible-_

"Well, make it possible!"

_We cannot-_

"You can! You have to!"

_Aaron, you do not understand!_

"No I don't understand, and I don't want to understand! I don't care about any of that, I just want all this... I want..." His voice slowly faded, as he began to realize what exactly was going to happen. "I... I don't..." He muttered, not even attempting to make a meaningful sentence. "I don't... But I... Pikachu..."

_We cannot undo this. It would require a great deal of our very essence to erase it, and as such we would prefer if you were to follow your destiny._

Aaron sighed, and blinked a few times, to make the tears disappear. Through still watery eyes, he stared Kyogre straight in the eyes, and slowly inhaled. "I... don't know if I can do it. I mean... I... " He was having trouble finishing his sentences, and in between loud sniffling, much of it was almost incomprehensible, and hard to understand. "I have... so much I want to... do with my life. I wanted... to go for... the Pokemon League..."

_I am truly sorry, Aaron. But, as such, we still expect you to perform your duty. _

With one final long sniffle, and a few more blinks of his eye, Aaron had somewhat calmed down, and the tears had dried up. "Y'know... I don't like your method of picking these Annulers. It could be more voluntary or something."

_Voluntary?_

"As in... people would agree to be an Annuler, or something."

_But no one would volunteer..._

"I guess you're right." He shamefully hung his head. "Sorry about the outburst before..."

_It was to be expected. Not many would be able to take this news with the least bit of content._ Kyogre's eyes began to fade into the nothingness that surrounded them. _If you are still fit to pursue Team Galactic, then I suggest you venture to Celestic Town. I have heard from my messenger, who explains that they are learning of the legend of Dialga and Palkia._

"Okay."

And with that, everything faded.


	30. The Fan Girl

Vale: I'm back on track, for what I believe is the fourth time since I started Divine Intervention. And I have improved somewhat! Thank you to my English teacher for helping out with descriptive passages, and teaching me all sorts of crazy and wonderful words of which I would not have learned of otherwise. (He still has his crazy schemes and ideals...)

Now to reply to my reviewers.

JK: You really mean it? Well, thanks! That means a lot. As for the whole turning into Magikarp catastrophe, I fixed it up very quickly. I mean, that was back when I didn't have the slightest clue of the difference between a simile and a metaphor (I'm exaggerating...)

Samswimmer: No problem. It happens a lot. Thank you for leaving a review, anyway.

SecretDisguise: Yeah. Russell – the real life Russell – has no morals and values nor does he lack the brainpower to realise that massacring so many Russians is evil. So, I reflected upon that. He did it without even being on an Xbox. (Ha! That's what you get for singing so crappily on Guitar Hero, Russell! Tell me how to sing Motorhead songs...)

markzilla6895: Plant? I'm not sure. Many make the assumption that Russell is actually the offspring of a man and an orca whale.

Fanfictionlover4444: Don't worry. For the most part, the "random" bit is over. I've finally reached the parts that I really wanna write, so that helps.

Mewtastic: ...Uh, where is she? Huh. She's probably still cranky because I forgot to review her story. Gah.

Well, thank you to all the above people who reviewed, anyway. Please keep them coming! I know you've heard it a million times from a million other authors, but more reviews = more chapters! So please leave one, whether good or critical, short or long, I don't mind! I just want to listen to your feedback!

Without further ado, then, let's continue!

**************************************************Chapter 30

Aaron fluttered his eyes open; still groggy with sleep, he was having trouble focusing on his surroundings. Though blurry at first, the world soon became clear, and a sudden realization of it caused alarm, because he seemed to be in the clearing of a forest. He was surrounded by perfect green trees, some with perfect red apples dangling from their fine branches, and a picturesque mountainous landscape lay in the distance. What seemed odd was the sight of an aged tower near the mountains, the pinnacle of which almost seemed to touch the sky. It was a pictorial scene, one unbeknownst to him.

Yet all seemed unnaturally quiet.

Not a thing was heard, not a single bird singing the melodies of the early morning, nor a single insect chirping along to complete the natural ensemble. The only thing the disoriented rodent heard was his own voice, as he whispered; "I must still be dreaming..."

He began to wonder, as he started to amble aimlessly along the path, what the point of this dream was – if this was a dream at all. It seemed to be too quaint and colourful to be real, and there were no signs of life in the vicinity. Just him and the forest. _What is the point of all this? _He asked himself, as he waddled along. _And what happened to the dream about my Emolga-shaped cake? I was really enjoying that, until Kyogre interrupted, and..._

He was about to recall the untimely conversation with Kyogre, until – as if someone had heard his thoughts – someone appeared in the distance. It was a small figure, no bigger than he, but the skin that hung from its arms made it stand out. Funnily enough, as the creature drew nearer with every hasty bound, he found it was an Emolga. On even closer inspection, the flying squirrel-like Pokemon was running. It attempted to leap into the air every few steps, trying to gain enough air to be able to glide away, but it appeared too exhausted to do so.

To answer the question of which Aaron had not even asked, another figure appeared behind the Emolga; it was much larger, towering over the poor Pokemon Aaron soon conceived it was giving chase to. It turned out to be an Archeops, a large ancient bird Pokemon with wings on its legs in addition to the normal pair of wings.

After a few seconds of watching in a perplexed gaze, the Emolga had caught up to Aaron, and had immediately tackled him on sight, throwing its arms around him and holding on tight. This was somewhat expected of a smaller being pursued by a more potent foe, but what the Emolga said confused him endlessly.

"Oh, Azzie! Azzie, help me!"

_Azzie? Nobody called me by that nickname but my mother..._

"You gotta do something!" The Emolga, who Aaron perceived to be a little girl due to her high pitched cries of fear, was tugging on his fur real hard. "C'mon! I know you can do it!"

As if the Archeops closing on them was non-existent, Aaron decided to change the subject. "How do you know my name?"

"What?" The Emolga shouted in surprise, eyes wide in shock. "You don't remember me...?"

Aaron shrugged. "Can't say I do. Sorry."

"But... But..." Her eyes were swelling up, and for a moment Aaron thought she looked cute, almost puppy dog eyes cute. "I'm your biggest fan!"

"Fan...?"

"Yeah! You're the most awesome Raichu in all of Unova! Going around, electro-shocking everyone's butts!"

Now he was really confused. "But, I'm still a Pikachu! And isn't this Sinnoh... whoa, whoa, whoa!" He exclaimed in surprise, as he saw a long black tail with a lightning bolt shape at the end, flickering about behind him. Looking down, he saw the orange fur and white torso, and feeling his ears confirmed the predicament. "But... wait... I was a Pikachu a second ago, wasn't I?"

"You're acting kinda weird..." The Emolga, still grasping Aaron's now orange fur, commented from below, and as she went to continue to elaborate, she heard the roar of her pursuer, who stood towering over the top of them.

Regardless of the situation, he couldn't turn a blind eye to someone in need, even if it was his... fan girl. He sighed. "Stand back, then! I'll take this thing out in no time!"

The Archeops roared at its new opponent, but Aaron stood his ground.

"Come at me! Or are you scared?"

And then it all happened in a blur that he himself couldn't entirely recur in his thoughts. The enormous bird lurched at him, jaws wide open, but before he could snap the mouse up in them, Aaron jumped into the air, right above the Archeops. He pulled his fist back, and through the miraculous laws of nature, thrust it forward, right into the bird's back, with the force of a thunderstorm. The bird Pokemon crashed to the ground, battered and bruised, and Aaron gracefully landed on his feet right beside it.

And all the Emolga could say was "That was quick..."

With that over and done with, Aaron wanted to ask his 'fan girl' a few questions. "Right. Now who exactly are you? And what am I doing in Unova?" He held out his arms. "What is all this? What the heck is going on?"

But before he got the answer he so desperately wanted, the Emolga was gone. She hadn't run off, as Aaron would have noticed. She just disappeared, just like that. Confusion set in even further, as the world around him grew transparent; everything was slowly disappearing right under his feet. Finally, there was nothing left. He was just standing in a void, much like the one where he and Kyogre meet occasionally, but this one was white.

He heard a voice. _Well done, Aaron._

He spun around a few times, but no-one was around. It wasn't Kyogre; Kyogre sounded like a young woman, whereas this was the deep voice of a man talking to him.

_This is only a dream, _the voice continued. _But take my advice; you should remember this dream on your journey._

"Wait, what? Why?"

_I can answer no more._

"Oh, well isn't that just so typical!" He folded his arms in anger.

_It's about time you woke up. The world needs you._

"Wait, what?"

And, just like last time, everything faded.

* * *

At that instant, his eyes shot open.

Immediately, he shot up, and took a look at himself; he was a Pikachu again. Confirming it was all a dream, he sighed, and slumped back on the chair. He looked around to everyone was still asleep; Luke was sprawled on the couch opposite him, alongside Nick, who was slumped over one of the arms of the couch; Dylan was curled up on the floor next to the couch, and Dylbert had snuggled up beneath the couch Aaron and Alice shared.

He looked over at Alice, and saw her curled up only centimetres from where he was sleeping. As he stared at her sleeping self, and mulled over it for a few minutes, thoughts came to mind of what had happened last night, during his dreams. First, Kyogre tells him he's going to disappear when he uses the Annulment on Cyrus, which really upset him, even now. Then, he had that strange dream with the Emolga and the Archeops, and that voice.

_Take my advice; you should remember this dream on your journey._

That bit was easy enough, as it was strange to the point where it would be etched into his mind for a very long time. The real question was; why? Maybe it was just a random dream, but he never had dreams like that. "Was it... maybe..." He pondered, scratching his chin. "Maybe it was a glimpse into the future?"

"What was a glimpse into the future?"

He almost died in shock, as he saw a cutely innocent Alice staring at him from within breathing space. "You always were a weird one..." She slumped back against the arm of the chair.

Aaron sweatdropped, and slouched back himself. "I had a really weird dream... I..." He stopped short. Perhaps it wasn't the time to tell her – anyone, for that matter – of his fate. "Well, I was in Unova, I think, and there was an Emolga being chased by an Archeops, and I smashed that Archeops, and the Emolga was cheering for me, I think... then it all went white, and a voice told me..."

"Told you what?" She inched closer, intrigued.

"I can remember it word for word. It said... This is only a dream. But take my advice; you should remember this dream on your journey."

"Wow. That's deep."

He hesitated. "Too deep. I don't understand it at all! I mean, the whole time, I think, I was a Raichu, which kinda weirded me out..."

"Maybe it's a glimpse at your future?" Alice commented, as if reading Aaron's mind. "You might have evolved into a Raichu, and made a friend out of am Emolga."

He couldn't shake that feeling, that it was foreshadowing to some untold event. It seemed oddly familiar to him, but he didn't actually remember having experienced any of his dream in the past...

"You awake?" Alice was snapping her fingers in Aaron's face, causing him to have a spastic attack all over the lounge.

* * *

It was ten in the morning when Aaron and his entourage, ignorant of his fate, decided to head off. The farewell to Alice was less heart-warming than he had anticipated, as Alice had only pecked him on the cheek and said "I'll see you back in Jubilife City, okay?" as she stood on the porch, waving. He really liked that tiny little kiss, but it didn't invigorate him like he had expected. He was still reeling from the shock that he received last night, from Kyogre.

_It's best if I forget about it for now,_ he told himself. _It's only gonna slow us down if I mull over it. Let's just get this over and done with._

So he tried to keep about his enthusiastic self, masking his fear with a twinkle in his eye. Standing outside Alice's holiday house, he stared off into the sky ambiguously, and he was doing a good job of it, because no-one suspected a thing. "So, Nick, our little tour guide!" He exclaimed. "Where are we off to next?"

"I wouldn't be so enthusiastic about it," He replied apathetically. "We're off to Celestic Town, and it's even duller than Oreburgh City." He shrugged. "It's... just a little village in the mountains. Not much I can really tell you about it."

"Oh, good!" Dylbert cried, clapping his hands. "If Team Galactic isn't there, then it's gonna be awesome!"

"The more, the merrier, I always say," Dylan jumped in, fed up with not having said anything in the past chapter.

"You never say that," Dylbert replied.

"I do now," Dylan snapped, moving ahead of him. "You forgot that I'm the badass personality of the group now!"

"And I doubt it's gonna last long," Dylbert muttered.

Stepping through the abundance of trees and bushes before arriving on the main path, they found that the sky was devoid of clouds, and the heat immediately began to pour over them like topping on ice cream. It was a bother, but they were adapting to the heat now, and so they ignored it like a gaggle of rich kids, and continued along the path. Ten minutes of walking and the usual silence between the group, and Luke decided to slip next to Aaron for a lovely chat. "So... What was that dream about, then?"

This caught Aaron off guard. "Dream? Hehe... What dream?"

"You and Alice were talking," Luke continued. "I woke up and you were talking to Alice about a fan girl Emolga, and you being a Raichu, and some weird voice."

"So you heard everything, then?"

Luke sniggered. "Well, I don't mean to be nosy, but I don't think I did. You sounded like you were hiding something."

"Hiding something?" Aaron jumped in front of Luke, waving his hands. "No! No, no, no, empathetically, no! I'm not hiding a single thing! Why would I hide anything from you?"

"Come on, Azz! I'm good at keeping secrets!"

"Yep! Like that time you told Mr Sparling that Nick was actually getting all the answers for exams from his filing cabinet while he was out to lunch with Mrs Brunton?"

"Oh, come on! Don't be such a spoilsport!"

Aaron hesitated. "You're not going to forget about this anytime soon, are you?"

"Nope."

"You're not going to like it..."

"Just tell me already."

He hesitated again, and then spun around to the others again. "You guys go on ahead! Luke and I have to talk about something!"

They nodded, and walked off, which meant he and Luke were all alone. He began to worry how Luke would take the news, but if he wouldn't stop nagging him about it, then he really didn't have much of a choice. Both of them stood to the side of the road, as Aaron prepared to tell him.

"So? What is it, then?" Luke asked impatiently.

Aaron hesitated for a third time, and sighed, closing his eyes. He couldn't bear to see the look on Luke's face when he told him. "Well... The thing is... How can I put this...? I... Won't be around for much longer."

Luke's impatience turned to worry. "What are you talking about?"

"Kyogre and I talked again last night... You see... I'm an Annuler, and an Annuler, as you probably would have figured out, have the Annulment, which can erase people from existence if they truly hate humanity. Well, there's a downside."

"Downside? You don't mean...?"

"When I use it," Aaron continued, still nervous about telling him, "I'll suffer the same fate as Cyrus. I'll disappear too."

For a moment, there was silence. Then Luke grabbed Aaron by the shoulders. "You can't disappear! They can't do that to you!"

"I had the same reaction," Aaron replied remorsefully. "And Kyogre said there is no way for it to be undone. That's just the way it goes."

"So then don't chase after Cyrus! Get someone else to do it for you!"

"Don't be stupid!" He snapped suddenly, but settled down when he realised he did so. "We can't risk having Cyrus destroy our world just because I still want to live! It's selfish! I just can't let it happen!"

Luke released Aaron's shoulders, and stepped back. "Y'know, if this weren't such a serious situation, I'd keep arguing until you gave in." He smiled, not masking his sorrow too well. "But you're all grown up now, Azz. I guess you make these choices for yourself now." He placed his hand on Aaron's shoulder again. "Just like I said back in Floaroma Town, I'm with you all the way! Even if it means you won't live to see the light of day again!"

"Jeez... When you put it that way, it's kinda depressing..." Aaron replied, now almost entirely cheerless.

"Don't think of it like that, then," Luke replied frantically. "I was always told that our lives on Earth are a punishment for a crime that our ancestors committed. But our lives are just... a temporary state. When someone passes away, they go to the afterlife, which I've heard, is eternal bliss!"

"That sounds pretty far-fetched."

Luke laughed, still doing a terrible job at masking his sorrow. "Far-fetched? Look! You're a little mouse that can fire electricity from your cheeks! I'm a two foot tall lizard!" He gave another chuckle, removing his hand from the rodent's shoulder. "We're Pokemon! I think it's safe to say anything can happen now, no matter how superstitious it could be!"

"So, what you're saying is... My death will lead to happiness?"

"It sounds weird, but yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying."

They both stopped their heart-warming conversation when they heard the chirping of an insect. This made Aaron think, and after a few seconds, he grinned gleefully. "You know what? This life I've lead... I don't see it as a punishment. It's been a happy life for the most part. That bug that we heard... It only lives for so long. I think I'm pretty grateful for the life I've had so far, and if I think about it, it hasn't really been short at all! I feel damn sorry for that bug."

"I think I get what you're saying," Luke replied curiously, not as upset as he was before. "But the analogy was pretty crappy."

They both emitted huge belly laughs, though Aaron's was out of pure embarrassment. Amidst the laughter, Luke managed to contain himself somewhat to say something. "Well, I guess we should get-"

Before he could finish, both of them were interrupted by an ear-piercing noise. "Was that... an explosion?" Aaron asked, and when they both realised what it was, they dashed back onto the road and straight ahead.

They were greeted by Dylan, Nick and Dylbert, who had halted themselves in the middle of the road, and were staring up at something in the distance. Aaron had already figured out what was going on, and so looked up himself; they were staring at a huge airship, similar to that of Team Galactics, but it seemed different somehow. From where he was, he couldn't pick out the little discrepancies between the two vessels, but as he was trying to figure out who it belonged to, he heard a voice echo through the area.

"Attention all Pokemon Hunters! Find the Pikachu at once! Bring him to me, and do not regard anyone's safety in the process! I repeat; bring him to me at any cost!"

_That voice... Oh damnit. _"I know that voice!" Aaron suddenly exclaimed, somewhat out of anger. "It's the same woman who almost sold me off to Cyrus back in Hearthome City!"

Everyone spun around to face him, and with the exclusion of Luke, everyone's mouths had pretty well dropped to the floor.

"It's J! She's onto us!"

* * *

Vale: Oh no! J's onto them!

Aaron: No need to repeat me unnecessarily.

Vale: Oh, Aaron! I haven't seen you in ages! Where you been, buddy?

Aaron: You locked me in the closet because I wouldn't stop singing Joan Jett's Bad Reputation on band Hero, remember? It's been months, and my throat hurts!

Vale: Oh, poor diddums. So, since you're here, I may as well ask; how do you feel about having to disappear at the end of the journey?

Aaron: Wait, what? What the (expletive deleted) have you been writing about me?

Vale: Well, I guess I'll see you guys next chapter, then. Please review! *runs as Aaron chases him with a chainsaw that is clearly too big for him*


	31. Bureka Drill Run!

Vale: I've decided to add a new narrative device; narration! Every now and then, when you see a section in italics _like so,_ unless specified otherwise, it means Aaron is speaking to himself, kinda like Tidus in Final Fantasy X.

Before we begin, let's clear up a few questions.

Samswimmer: So many questions! (Kinda.) Why can't he have a biggest fan if he has to kill himself? It's like asking why I can't have a Wii if I have Smash Bros. Brawl. As for Luke's mouth "not dropping to the floor," I believe I was trying to imply that he was not surprised. Probably should fix that.

Mewtastic: I'm pleased to confuse you.

How do you mean disjointed? Is that because Chapter 28 ended with getting a badge and Chapter 29 started the next day, already on the way to Celestic Town? I can do that. I've seen many people do that. I mean, it's not like you all want to read about them sleeping – although judging by what happens at night, maybe you do.

What does it hint at? You'll see. It's rude for one to spoil their own story.

anon: Thanks for the review, anonymous person! An 8 out of 10? Brilliant.

JK: Thank you for pointing that out. I fixed it, so no worries there.

As for you "signing up" to be in my story, then – and don't quote me on this _just yet_ – but I'm pretty sure you can. I've planned out most of what is going to happen in part 1 and 2, but there are holes to fill, so if I can't fill them, then I guess you could fill it if you wanted to.

That goes for anyone. If you do wanna be a part of the story, then feel free! Leave a review with your character's details, or PM me if you wish, and I'll get back to you on whether or not you can be a part in _Divine Intervention! _(Once again, though, don't quote me on it. I'm still not a hundred percent sure...)

Keep the reviews coming! It's so awesome when I can boast to my friends that I have a small fan base and they only have stories about pickles and clowns and stuff.

**********************************************Chapter 31

It was no surprise to Luke. Nothing was a surprise anymore. Even with huge crime syndicates after his best friend, the rodent with the power to erase people from existence, such an event was not unforseen. Of course, however, he was anxious of the situation; the Pokemon Hunter's leader, J, loomed overhead, piloting a huge flying vessel, while her minions parachuted down to find them. So the following question was a given; "What do we do now?"

Aaron hesitated, adjusting the group's bag that hung over his shoulder. "I'm going to confront her."

Luke felt surprised at this, however. "You may as well just turn yourself in!" He cried.

"This is something I gotta do. I wanna get my revenge on her, for trying to sell me to Cyrus!" His muscles were tensing, and his pupils dilated a little. "I'll go on myself if I have to."

As if having heard his thoughts, Dylan and Dylbert had already made off hastily in the opposite direction. "Good luck with that!" Was all Dylbert could say, as they rushed off.

"What a bunch of..." Luke muttered a profanity under his breath, and then turned back to Aaron. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, Azz. I'm with you 'til the end!"

"You sure?" Aaron questioned, still staring up at the airship.

Nick chimed in. "I'm not the bravest around, but I'm coming too! I have a feeling you know what you're doing, and if so, then I want to help out too!"

"We've seen what you can do before, Azz," Luke continued. "We shouldn't have much of a problem, if you ask me."

Aaron settled down a little when he caught this, but grew sorrowful. "I know I had enough power to kill a lot of people that day, back in Hearthome. I wouldn't know, even if I did. But, whatever I did back there, that wasn't my doing." He turned to Luke and Nick, the only two left that had decided to stick with him during this dangerous endeavour. "If anything happens in there... If either of you two gets hurt, then I'm truly sorry."

"Enough of the apologies already," Nick ushered. "Let's just go!"

* * *

A few minutes of walking, and they found themselves hiding within a bush, watching as Pokemon Hunters rushed around just metres from their undisclosed position. Dozens of them rushed off a walkway dropped from the bottom of the airship, anchored in the air, hovering over a lake, and all were carrying similar devices to the one the Charmeleon had captured him with days ago. "A word of warning," he began, as the other two slowly huddled closer so as not to make too much noise. "Those silver things on their wrists? If it blasts you, then you become frozen, and they can easily capture you from there."

"That's a bit harsh," Luke whispered. "What happens if you have a really bad itch, or you get hungry?"

"It's hard to explain," Aaron continued." It feels like you're on the verge of death, not being able to breathe, and you can barely see, either. But, you never get hungry, or need to perform any other... bodily functions... It's a kind of stasis, like when astronauts go on really long trips into space." He grinned a little. "I had an annoying itch on my tail the whole time."

"So, perhaps we should avoid them?" Nick asked needlessly, and likewise, didn't receive an answer.

A few minutes passed as they watched from the bushes, when the time came. All the Pokemon Hunters, seemingly, had embarked from the airship, so without a moment's hesitation, the three of them sprang from their hiding place, and darted for the airship.

* * *

Inside, they found they were in some kind of holding bay, similar to the one they had leaped into on the Galactic's airship. It, too, was filled with crates of various sizes, but after just a minute of exploring, Nick found a silver device sitting on one of them. Curious, he slipped the small device on his wrist, and it fit very comfortably. When he slipped it on, though, he noticed some kind of computerized display light up on the face of it; it only showed a gauge, with the word ENERGY above it, and the words FULL and EMPTY on either side. The dial leaned in-between the EMPTY side and the middle.

When Aaron noticed it, he jumped, but settled down and saw it was on Nick's arm. "That's one of the devices, Nick!" He exclaimed, pointing nervously." Watch where you aim that thing!"

Nick tried to fire it, but nothing came out. "It looks like it doesn't have any-" But just as he was about to finish his sentence, a beam of bright white shot out of the tip and shot straight for the wall, rebounded off of it, nearly skinned Aaron's tail, and struck one of the crates, causing it to turn entirely brown.

Nick, embarrassed, slid the device off of his arm.

When Luke found them talking about the device, they decided to move on through a door at the end of the holding bay, which lead to a long, plain, lifeless corridor of white, with numerous sky blue doors lining it. Aimlessly they led themselves along the corridor, ignoring the doors along the way, hoping they would find who they were looking for at the end of it.

* * *

Alice sat on the front porch of her holiday house, eyes droopy, mind fuddled, and ready to daze off. She felt like a hypocrite now; she had told Russell off for being so technologically up to date, and here she was, cursing herself because she didn't even have access to a computer. All she had was her iPod, and it was low on battery, but she didn't care. She decided to doze off with her iPod in her ears, lazing on one of the pedestals that depicted a pattern of Water Pokemon on it.

She soon awoke, however, when irritating lyrics sung by an equally irritating thirteen year old blasted into her eardrums, startled her, and cause her to topple off the pedestal. When she was fully awake and realised what had happened, she stopped, and heard the lyrics still bursting out of the earphones, explaining the order in which the days of the week preceded each other. Abruptly, she jumped up and slammed her foot into the iPod, and the music ceased.

Though she thought she had finally found some peace and quiet, she heard a rustling in the bushes; before she could ask who was there, a Chimchar and a Mudkip emerging from them.

"Dylan? Dylbert?" She asked, confused.

Dylbert sighed. "Oh, it's only you." He hung his head, exhausted. "We heard that 'Friday' song, and we got a little worried..."

"Don't worry," Alice replied sternly, folding her arms. "I already dealt with it. There's no need to worry. Ehh..." Her eyes darted about the area, and noticed something. "Where are Aaron, and Luke, and that other kid?"

"You mean there was another kid?" Dylan remarked, before Dylbert slapped him upside the head. "Uhh... I mean, we kinda ditched them."

"Why would you ditch them?" Alice asked.

"Well, you see," Dylbert began to explain, "We believe Aaron is a disaster magnet. Over the past few days, we've fallen out of Team Galactic's airship, he blew up a Pokemon Hunter building, and I was almost destroyed by a stray missile. So, I believe, to travel with him is not safe."

"Where are they now, then?"

"Aaron said he needs to get revenge against the Pokemon Hunters who tried to sell him," Dylan replied, yawning. "Ooh, hey, do you have any more of that meat loaf? It kinda tasted like a quiche."

Alice jumped back in surprise. "What the heck is he thinking, taking on Pokemon Hunters?"

"Ehh... Who knows? Now do you have any meat loaf or not?"

But Alice shoved through them and ran towards forest. "I have to go help him! He doesn't know what he has gotten himself into!"

But she stopped in her tracks, when she heard a deep voice a small distance away; "I wouldn't worry about him if I were you."

Surprised, she spun around to notice that a Charmeleon was now standing amongst Dylan and Dylbert, bandaged arms folded. "I've seen what that kid can do. There's no doubt that he and his friends will be safe."

Alice grew agitated. "How can you possibly know this?"

The Charmeleon stepped forward slowly, holding one of his bandaged arms in the air. "I know, because that day in Hearthome, he left me with a black eye and a broken wrist, as a result simply of him punching me."

"He's that powerful?" She quizzed.

"Most certainly." He let his arm slump back down to his side, and groaned. "Little bastard had me in hospital for a few days."

The Charmeleon began to amble away, paying no attention to the agitated and impatient Alice, who was tapping her foot on the ground, and yanking her ears with her paws. "I feel so helpless...! I wish I still had my Pokemon! Me and my Dragonair would take them all out!"

"Like I said," The Charmeleon repeated as he headed for the forest, "you don't need to worry. Once the Annulment awakens, they're all goners."

"But..." Before Alice could ask more, the Charmeleon had disappeared from sight.

* * *

_As I ran down that corridor, I was feeling really... tense. Like, there was a fire burning in my body. Deep within my mind, I could hear a voice telling me... This wasn't the right thing to do. But that tense feeling I had just kind of... overruled that instinct. It told me... No mercy for the weak! They must be obliterated! You must destroy them!_

_And then I thought... Was it the Annulment... telling me what to do?_

When they reached the end of the featureless corridor, a big steel door of blue greeted them, towering over them at perhaps eight feet.

Nervous, Luke turned to Aaron to ask a question, but stopped when he noticed how stiff he was. His breathing was exalted, his pupils dilated and his eyes bright, his fists clenched. "Aaron? Are... Are you alright?"

He cracked his neck. "Never better!" He exclaimed through gritted teeth.

"You sure... you're ready to do this?"

"Hmph! No mercy for the weak, I say!"

"Um... Okay..."

They stepped forward, and the towering door hovered up and disappeared; within.

_It was exactly like the Pokemon Hunter place back in Hearthome. There was a big chair smack in the middle of the room, kind of like a throne, and below there were numerous Pokemon working at the controls. There was a window that spanned the whole of the room, giving a nice view of the blue sky that day. Guess this was the bridge, or something. Being as... merciless... as I was, I didn't really take much notice. But it reminded me all too soon of what had happened back in Hearthome..._

"Ah, good. You've arrived."

As Aaron, Luke and Nick stepped in to the room of flashing lights and dials, the throne-like chair rotated around until it and its occupant were facing them. Immediately upon seeing her, sparks began to fly from Aaron's cheeks.

"I've sent out every one of my men to find you, rodent. But it seems you were stupid enough to bring yourself to me instead. Seems I didn't need to go through much trouble at all to capture you again."

"Screw you, J!" Aaron exclaimed, ready to pounce at any moment. 'You're not capturing me, or my friends, this time!"

"Oh, did I say capture?" J covered her mouth and giggled to herself. "Oh, no, you must pardon me. I tend to make these mistakes sometimes." She stood from her chair, and began to slowly make her way over to the nervous Pokemon. "What I meant to say is, I'm going to kill you instead."

_In the back of my mind I was screaming, pretty much. Every moral fibre of my body was telling me to get the heck out of there, but the Annulment was taking over. I had little control over what I did then._

And then he leaped into the air without warning, screaming, his tail glowing intensely bright. Hovering only momentarily over the evil woman, he brought himself back down to the ground, attempting to slam his tail right into her.

He hadn't noticed he had missed until it was too late, until he heard the helpless cries of his friends. He spun around, gasping, as he saw Luke and Nick within the grasp of the claws of a hulking Drapion, slowly being crushed from the pressure.

"Hang on, guys!" Aaron cried as he began to dash for them, but stopped after a second, noticing he wasn't nearly as tense and rash as he was just a second ago. "Wait... Why..." He cursed himself, thinking that the Annulment had stopped working suddenly. "Damnit! Of all the times!" He gritted his teeth. "Whatever! I can take this thing on without it!"

He dashed straight for the scorpion Pokemon, sparks flying from his cheeks, but before he could even think of attacking the Drapion, it spun around, sending its bulky tail crashing straight into him, flinging him into the chair of which J once sat in. Pain coursed through his back as he tried to get back up, and he realised he was down and out. The bag he had been carrying slipped off of his shoulder and onto the ground.

A second later, and J was standing over the top of him, aiming the device on her wrist straight at him. "To think that you, of all people, were charged with restoration of peace among the world! You are nothing but a lowly rat, scurrying around, trying not to be trampled on by all the higher-ups of the world."

_Obviously, I feared for the worst. She was gonna freeze me, and then, probably kill me later. At that point, I had mentally crapped myself._

_Of course, I couldn't die yet._

Out of nowhere, there was the sound of glass breaking. J had moved away from Aaron to see what all the ruckus was about, and out of the corner of his eye, Aaron could see she was a little worried.

One of the windows that spanned the majority of the bridge was shattered, and amongst the shards of glass stood an Excadrill, panting, glaring at J. Everything came to a standstill for a moment; the Drapion loosed its prisoners from its grip just a little, and the Pokemon below had all spun around to see the commotion.

_He eyed me then, and he said as sarcastically as possible; _"I see you have this under control..." _His voice sounded vaguely familiar, like that guy from the anime with all the giant mechas the size of galaxies, or something. _

_But still, the sight of the Excadrill scared me at first. What had me worried... was the blood dripping from its claws. I noticed it didn't have any wounds, so I could only presume... It wasn't his blood..._

"You have quite the airship, J," The Excadrill continued, his eyes darting around the room. "How much did it set you back, eh? How many innocent Pokemon did you have to capture and sell to bag this beast?"

"Who the hell are you?" J shouted, preparing the device on her wrist.

"Pfft! Please! Those little toys don't scare me!" The Excadrill replied heroically. "Though if you insist, you can call me... Bureka."

_Oh. Now I got it. So many pop culture references..._

J wasn't impressed, as Aaron could tell by the wrinkles forming on her forehead from screwing up her face. "I don't care what your name is. You're all Pokemon, and all you are to me is a means of money. Now, freeze!" Just that instant, the device on her wrist shot a bright beam of light at Bureka, but he hastily leaped into the air, dodging it completely. He hid his head beneath his claws, giving the impression of a drill, and began to rapidly spin and charge for the Drapion, and within the so-called 'drill,' Aaron could hear him shout something...

"BUREKA DRILL RUN!"

Bureka's drill-like body collided head on with J's Drapion, causing it to topple over and release his captives. Luke and Nick fell to the ground, gasping for air. With the Drapion defeated, Bureka landed, un-drilled himself, and faced the downed Aaron, who was still struggling to even sit up. "Aaron! You have to psyche up, now!"

He didn't even hear the instructions, only interested when he said his name, but then he forgot that a lot of people knew of him now. But... "How? I can barely sit up, let alone battle!"

"Just think of what she was going to do to you! Think of all the bad things that have happened in your life! The Annulment feeds off those bad things!"

But J had the nerve to interrupt. "There is no need to destroy this airship, just like what you did in Hearthome, hapless rodent." She walked over to the chair and picked Aaron up, holding the flabby part of the back of his neck with two long fingers. Before Aaron could even attempt to flail his way out of her grasp, she just as quickly let go, and Aaron fell to the ground, collapsed. She then sat in her throne-like chair; immediately, part of the arm of the chair slid open, revealing a big red button of epic cliché-ness. "I believe I'll just do it myself. These models are actually quite disposable..."

With a long, wrinkly finger, she pressed down on the button.

Almost instantly, the computerized voice of a woman replied from, seemingly, nowhere; "Self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Two minutes until complete and utter annihilation."

Bureka growled at the Pokemon hunter. "If we're going down, I'm taking you with me!" He dashed for her and attempted to slash at her with his claws, but all he had sliced was thin air; J had disappeared from her seat, as had the majority of her minions who had worked below, with the only exception being an Alakazam, who slowly dissolved into thin air.

"Damn! They teleported!" Luke shouted, finally getting his breath back.

He stopped, as he heard the computerized voice again; "Popular culture would suggest that all personnel are to leave the vicinity before being incinerated by an incredible explosion. As there is only a minute and thirty seconds left before the vessel self-destructs, perhaps you should leave immediately. Thank you for co-operating, and have a pleasant day."

Nick grimaced. "Well, geez, thank you for being so considerate." He rushed over to the bag that Aaron had dropped, and yanked out a Sitrus berry. "Lucky I found one of these near Pastoria," He said, as he held it up to Aaron's mouth. He took a little nibble, and proceeded to engulf the whole berry in his mouth, chewing and swallowing in just a few seconds. To his relief, he shakily but surely climbed to his feet.

"You okay?" Nick asked, a little worried.

"I'm fine," Aaron replied, taking an unstable step. "Just a little limp, that's all."

The Excadrill stepped forward. "No time to waste, then! We need to get out of here!"

The voice aired through the room again. "Thirty seconds remaining. If you are still present within the airship then I'm afraid that you are going to die."

"Gah!" Bureka shouted, frustrated. He eyed the front window of the bridge, and his face lighted up. "There! We jump out the front window!"

"What?" Luke cried, more than sceptical. "That's not the smartest thing I've heard today!"

"There's a lake below us! We'll only land in the water! There's nothing to be afraid of!"

_It's funny, isn't it? Fate always has its own funny way of doing things. Like, trying to force me to overcome my fear of water so we can escape an airship on the brink of destruction. Thanks, fate. Appreciate that._

Bureka jumped up towards the window and slashed at it, shattering it, and immediately proceeded to leap out and into the air. Nick soon followed, obviously not scared of the water, as he attempted to dive off the airship but slipped and ended up falling spectacularly.

Luke climbed up onto the window, and turned back to Aaron who limped behind nervously. "C'mon, Azz, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

"B-but..."

The voice rang in the air again. "Ten seconds remaining. For those who are still present... It's been a good run. Have a nice afterlife."

Luke didn't want to wait. He leaped off the airship and plummeted into the air, and out of Aaron's line of sight.

"Five..."

_Ah, crap._

"Four..."

Reluctantly, Aaron dashed forward, as fast as his limping legs would carry him.

"Three..."

He grabbed the window, and pulled himself up as fast as he could. When his feet found broken glass-covered ground, he didn't stop to think, not for one second; he pushed himself up into the air again.

"Two..."

Unfortunately, he couldn't jump very far, and ended up tripping over his own legs, sending him into a downward spiral for the shining lake below.

"One..."

That was the last thing he heard come from the airship, before he heard an extremely ear-splitting noise ring through the air. Small shards of glass and large chunks of airship debris flew past him, as he clumsily fell towards the mass of gleaming blue and white beneath him. He closed his eyes, not wanting to look, and waited, as he plummeted through the afternoon air.

SPLASH!

He opened his eyes, but immediately squeezed him shut as he felt the sting of water rushing into them. Then he panicked. He flailed his arms, slowly taking himself to the surface, and when his head popped out from beneath the water, he took an exalted breath, and flailed some more. "Help! Somebody get me out of here! I can't swim! HELP!"

He stopped kicking and screaming, when he felt tiny little claws grab his tail and pull him onto his back, as he sped along the water. Nick had grabbed his tail, it seemed, and taken him to shore. No need to be such a big cry baby over it."

"I'm not a cry-baby!" Aaron snapped in reply, bouncing along the ripples of the water. He noticed he was speeding up, as debris from the airship was plummeting into the lake as well. "I just... had a bad experience when I was little."

_Bad experience? More like, I almost drowned! I remember when I was swimming at Sandgem Town, and out of nowhere, an Octillery latched onto my legs with its tentacles, and pulled me under. Next thing you know, some kid comes along, starts kicking it, and drags me to shore. That's the day I met Luke._

Nick had finally gotten them to shore, and he had pulled the scared little rodent onto the sand. Aaron stood up, and shook himself dry, before joining the awe-struck Luke and Bureka, who were watching with silence the debris of the airship raining down into the lake.

Aaron sniffled, then signalled for Bureka. "Um... Thanks for the save, I guess."

"It was nothing," Bureka replied, as the debris finally settled in the lake.

"So, uh, question!" Luke asked, putting his hand up and standing on his tippy toes. "Who exactly are you?"

Bureka shrugged. "Well, as I said, I go by the name of Bureka, which is Japanese for break, as in..." He thrust his claws forward, stabbing air. "...as in I'm gonna break your face!"

Everyone sweatdropped.

"Eheh... well, anyway, I am a valued member of the Unova branch of the Pokemon Crusaders!"

"The Pokemon Crusaders?" Nick asked blatantly.

"Yep! They're a group of Pokemon committed to helping out all the other Pokemon of the world! At first, it was pretty small stuff. We were kinda like boy scouts, or something like that. But we got bigger, and now we're involved in an operation to combat the greater evils of the world! Such as, of course, the Pokemon Hunters."

"You don't say..." Aaron replied, a little weary.

"Y'know, Charmeleon said a lot about you."

He perked up. "Is he a Crusader, too?"

Bureka nodded. "You managed to hospitalize him, I heard! You sure you're the one who hospitalized him? I mean..." He looked up to where J's airship used to be before it was needlessly obliterated. "One swipe of that Drapion's tail and you were out like a light..."

"Hey!" Aaron snapped. "I just got caught off guard, that's all! If I was still all riled up, then I probably would've sent that Drapion to Narnia and back."

Bureka scowled at him, not believing his story. "Yeah, right. Well, anyway, you guys keep at it. You know everyone's depending on you. If it were up to me, I'd probably tag along with you, but..." He sighed exaltedly. "Duty calls..."

"What kind of duty?" Luke asked curiously.

"Well... We have some rather advanced technology that lets us pinpoint the exact location of any human in the world, but just yesterday, we picked up a signal near Snowpoint City!"

"A human? Oh..." He cried in surprise, but lowered his hopes lowered suddenly. 'It's probably just Team Galactic."

"I don't think so. The signal was coming from a very remote location, and Team Galactic, if I'm correct, are still trudging around near Celestic Town." The others wanted to comment, but Bureka stopped them. "Listen, I gotta go. Rhyder's gonna get mad again if I'm late back to headquarters!" He began to sprint away, but spun around a few seconds later. "Y'know, if you guys get a bit stronger, you should join the Pokemon Crusaders! Well, after you've taken care of Team Galactic, of course."

Aaron sighed. "Right... After..."

_There wasn't going to be an after. Everyone reminded me of that. Everyone talked about what was going to happen after I annulled Cyrus, and it kinda got me down. I just wished Cyrus would present himself to me, so I could take care of him right on the spot._

As Aaron mulled over it, Bureka ran off along the shore, and disappeared out of his short line of sight. With nothing else to gain from being there, he had decided to leave. "C'mon, you two. Let's go to Celestic Town for the night."

* * *

Vale: More 5th gen Pokemon! Yay! Excadrill is by far my favourite, with high attack and, during a sandstorm, it's apparently (one of) the fastest Pokemon in the game.

Anyway, more plot points! More foreshadowing! So much in this little chapter! My brain is well and truly getting a workout putting all these pieces together for the future...

Remember to read and review, too, and leave information for your character if you wish. If I get back to you, then you're in, but if not, then either there's no room, or I don't like your character, or I'm just not taking any more OCs, so don't feel upset.

Oh, and five bucks to whoever can guess who Aaron thought Bureka sounded like.


	32. Shattered Dreams

Vale: Author's notes are gonna go at the bottom only, so now people can jump straight into the chapter. Enjoy!

********************Chapter 32

It hadn't taken long before Aaron, Luke and Nick arrived triumphantly in Celestic Town, and it had taken just as long for them to breathe a sigh of disappointment. The town, simply put, was just a bunch of cabins surrounded by tall mountains. The cabins were exactly as one would imagine; simple wooden dwellings with one window and one door for decoration, smoke bellowing out of their chimneys. The only standouts of the town were the Pokemon Center, which stuck out like Magikarp amongst a school of Feebas, and the incline in the middle of the town that led to uninteresting ruins, as Nick explained. So, of course, the entourage headed straight for the Pokemon Center, exhausted from the diving out of airships and being crushed by scorpion Pokemon.

But of course, who should be waiting there but a whimpering little Chimchar and an anxious little Mudkip, pacing back and forth in the Pokemon Center! As it turned out, they heard there was a huge explosion in the vicinity, and were concerned as to whether or not Aaron, Luke and Nick had made it out alive, but their presence confirmed that obviously wasn't the case. When Aaron questioned why they ran off like such cowards, they immediately digressed, and suggested they find a room in the Pokemon Center before they were all booked up.

* * *

Well, they were a little too late.

When they went into the reception desk and asked Nurse Joy, she could only shake her head. "I'm sorry," she began, "but the last room was taken just a few minutes ago by a young Emolga."

They all groaned in dismay.

Before anyone could comment, Nurse Joy heard a ringing, and picked up an object from under the desk, ceasing the ringing. A phone, obviously. "Hello? Celestic Town Pokemon Center, Nurse Joy speaking! How may I be of assistance? ... Oh, why yes, I have them right here! You'd like to speak to Nick?"

Nurse Joy walked around the counter and handed Nick the phone. He answered with a distinct "Ahoyhoy?"

Aaron did a face palm.

On the other line, Nick heard the voice of an older woman. "Nick! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay! Your father and I have been worried sick!"

Nick winced. "Mum?"

"Yes, it's your mother! And as your mother, I _command _you to come home this instant!"

He jumped out of pure shock. "Home? No way! I don't see why I should have to!" He put it on speakerphone for the others to hear.

"Your father and I are well aware of what you and your little Pikachu friend have been up to, and we will simply not allow you to get hurt! You will meet us in Solaceon Town tomorrow, or else you'll be in big trouble, mister!"

Nick was getting quite agitated. Considering how stubborn he was, he wasn't going to give up without a fight. "I'm not going! Not until we've finished what we've started!"

"Well, too bad! And that goes for your friends Dylan and Dylbert, as well! Their parents are already waiting in Solaceon Town to pick them up and take them home, as you will be, too!"

Dylan and Dylbert cried out in alarm, but Nick ignored them. "Like I said, mum, I ain't coming home just yet! You can thank me when you, and everyone else in the world, isn't dead!" Obviously agitated, he handed the phone back to the nurse, and forgot the conversation he had just participated in. "So, where are we going to sleep, then?"

"If I may..." Nurse Joy chimed in. "The Emolga that booked the last room said that if anyone wishes to stay, they are allowed to stay in her room as well."

"Guess we stay in there, then!" Luke replied.

* * *

Within a few minutes, the group were seated at a table, shoving dinner down their throats. Aaron, however, didn't feel like eating his chicken schnitzel. His brain was occupied with so many thoughts, racing through like a blur, not even giving him a chance to think about them. _Every passing day is bringing me closer to my death... _

He needed to get his mind off of it, so he decided to look around the place. It looked like a log cabin, just like the rest of the cabins in town, but inside seemed like a fully fledged restaurant, with many different Pokemon seated at tables, and portraits of famous people lining the walls. It seemed a few of them were portraits of a famous explorer, and each of these portraits had a gold plate underneath, with the word "Fuji" inscribed in it. It was quite an expensive looking place, oddly.

A voice interrupted his observation. "So, what do we do, Azz?"

He snapped out of it, and saw Dylbert staring directly at him, food stuck to his furry face.

Dylan butted in. "I say we just ignore them and keep going! We ain't gonna let our parents stop us from kicking the crap out of Team Galactic!"

But Aaron stopped him. "You guys can do what you want," He said calmly. "If you wanna go home then feel free. I'll just keep going anyways."

Dylan smirked. "Well, glad you see it that way, buddy."

"Hang on, what happened to the 'badass' Dylan?"

He groaned. "Too much work."

"And what will SpawnXD say?"

"I don't care..."

"Exactly."

_So, they were seriously considering going home. Guess I couldn't blame them. Especially Dylbert. I remember when we almost died from falling out of Team Galactic's airship, after he had thought we were walking right into a trap. Guess he was just fed up with it all. But..._

"What about you, Nick?" Aaron asked, but flinched when he saw the rate at which he was scoffing down his fish.

Between mouthfuls of flake, he muttered; "I... am not... going anywhere."

Aaron raised his non-existent eyebrows. "Aren't you afraid of your parents grounding you for the rest of your miserable life?"

Nick swallowed. "Couldn't care less."

_When Nick decided he was going to keep on being as stubborn as ever and not face up to his parents, it was settled, so I dropped the subject, and continued with my just looking around the place. Then I swore to myself I was dreaming, because sitting at a table near the reception desk... was that Emolga... Just like the one from my dreams..._

* * *

_...Sitting over at the table to the left, amongst all those other little Pokemon... was that Pikachu... just like the one in my dreams... ACK! He's looking right at me! Just ignore him, Emi! Just keep eating your salad. ...Mmm... Oh, wow, that's amazing! I must have more! I'm gonna get up, and..._

"Hey! You're an Emolga!"

The Emolga jumped in her seat on the table, startled, when she saw the beady little black eyes of the Pikachu staring right at her. "I don't mean to sound weird or anything, but you kinda look like an Emolga that I've seen in my dreams..."

The sky squirrel Pokemon was shaking in her fur. "W-what if I told you that I see you in my dreams?"

"I'd find it a little creepy..."

The Emolga smirked. "Well, that's just too bad! You'll just have to get used to it! After all, I'm your biggest fan!"

"Oh, really?" _Biggest fan? She has to be the one out of my dream! Though... I have a fan... That feels awesome._

As the Pikachu floated off into daydream land, the Emolga tapped him on the cheek a few times, and after vigorously shaking his head, he snapped out of it, and joined his new friend back in the real world. "So, uh, what's your name, then?"

"My name's Emi," The Emolga replied. "It's a Japanese name, my mum said. S'posed to mean that I'm smart, or something, but I'm the exact opposite! I mean, look at me! I'm so jumpy!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down on the table where they stood.

"Well, thanks for, err, pointing out the obvious," The Pikachu replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Speaking of obvious, my name's Aaron, but you probably already knew that."

"Ooh, it's so great to meet you!" Emi cried, clasping his tiny little hands in her paws. "And I heard you were staying in the same room as me tonight!"

Aaron sweatdropped. "W-we are?"

"Yep! And we can stay up late and tell scary stories and play truth or dare, and you can tell me all about where you've been and what you've done!" She screamed in excitement, an excitement which obviously Aaron wasn't sharing so enthusiastically. "Yay! This is going to be so awesome!"

* * *

_This is going to be so weird._

That was all that was going through Aaron's mind as Emi led him and the others to her room, where they would hang about for the night. Emi, as Aaron saw it, was a little enthusiastic and eager for his liking, and he kept thinking she was going to keep him up all night.

Then he thought... _What if she tries to come onto me? What will I do? What will Alice think, if she really has feelings for me? Well... At least I've got my mind off other things now..._

"Hey! You comin' in, Slowpoke?"

Once again coming back to reality, he saw Emi, Luke, and the others had already found their way inside the room and were all waiting for him to join them. Reluctantly, he obeyed.

* * *

It was three hours later when the supposed 'fun and games' stopped, and Dylan, Dylbert and Nick had dozed off on one of the bunk beds. Luke and Aaron sat on another bunk bed, not being able to sleep as their young Emolga friend bounced about on the top bunk above.

"Mind if we ask a favour, Emi?" Luke asked calmly.

The bouncing stopped.

"Maybe... It's about time we turned in for the night."

Emi leaned over the top bunk and poked her tongue out at the weary Treecko. "You're no fun! Aaron and I still wanna do more stuff together! Right, Azzie?"

_That nickname again... _"I'm a little too tired to be jumping around and stuff, so..." He eyed Luke, who had already dozed off, curled up in a foetal position on the bed.

"We can always talk about stuff!"

_There's no getting through to this kid, is there? _"Um... Okay..."

Emi pulled herself back onto her bunk bed, and as she did, Aaron felt an urgent need to ask; "So, Emi... Uh... How do I put this...? What's your deal?"

"Deal?" She asked.

"Yeah. Everyone has a deal, y'know?"

There was a silence, then Emi suddenly snapped at him; "You think I'm coming on to you, don't you?"

"What? No, no, no! I'm just curious as to why you're so jumpy and jittery!"

"Um... I dunno. Besides, I've already got a boy that I like back in Unova. So don't think I'm ever going to try and seduce you, or something." There was another exalted, awkward silence. "What about you? What's your deal?"

Aaron chuckled. "Honestly, I was under the impression that I had no deal. In fact, Luke seems to be a strong believer in my eventual mitosis."

"Mitosis?"

"One day, I will eat an enormous amount of Mexican food and end up splitting into two separate beings."

Emi laughed. "No, I mean why are you chasing after Team Galactic? Not just to save the world and stuff, but, like a personal reason."

"Oh... I guess... It's to get revenge, really. A couple years ago Team Galactic got to my parents, and... Well... you know..."

"Sorry to hear that," Emi replied with a hint of sorrowfulness in her voice. "But you shouldn't dwell in the past, y'know?"

"You're always so... happy, Emi!" Aaron laughed. "It's amazing!"

The two laughed for a minute, and for the first time that day, Aaron felt truly happy for some reason. He wasn't sure of this girl at first, but as they talked, they grew fonder of each other, but not to that extreme that you're all no doubt thinking of in your sick twisted little heads.

Then Aaron asked, "So what is there to do around here anyway? Y'know, for fun?"

Emi chuckled again. "Fun? Ha! Celestic Town is not fun! It's the most boring town ever! But... I heard about this thing under Mt. Coronet... Something like... The crystal borealis, I think..."

"Crystal borealis?"

"Yeah! I heard it shines with the colours of the aurora, or something, and when someone goes there, they can talk to dead people!"

"Dead people...? You're serious?"

"I dunno if it's true or not, but..." She yawned, and Aaron smiled slyly. "...I also heard that Team Galactic are down there, too."

_Of course. _"I'd love to keep talking, Emi, but I think it's about time I dozed off. Got stuff to do tomorrow..." Now he yawned, and proceeded to curl up on the bed too. "We should talk again in the morning."

_I remember Emi said something, but I didn't really pay her any mind at the time. I was too tired. But... The crystal borealis, huh? If the rumour is true, then I could... I could... Argh. Nope. I'm going to sleep._

* * *

Light leaked its way into his eyes, and instinctively he opened them, greeted by nothing but a glossy blur of orange. He tried to lift his arms to rub his eyes, but they weren't responding; nothing was, for that matter.

He began to panic, when he heard footsteps behind him. As the blur in his eyes cleared, two black feet stepped in front of him; that was all he could see, being so vertically challenged. Were they... a Lucario's feet?

He heard more footsteps, but the ones in front were not moving, so he assumed someone else was present. The second pair of footsteps ceased, and then he heard a familiar voice.

_What is it that you people desire?_

He knew that voice, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The voice continued. _I do not understand what you people desire. I seek to free this world from life by destroying it and creating my own, but you see this as a selfish act. I may seek to end life, but life itself is just a temporary state of pain and suffering. For example, we look at your life. Sarah and Alistair have been absent from your life for how long now...?_

What was this guy getting at? Aaron thought, not being able to do much else.

The feet twitched a bit. _But, you see, in their death, they have been freed from life, and exist happily in death. Perhaps it is time you joined your parents, Aaron._

"What? No!" He wanted to shout, but his body still did not respond. As he struggled to be heard, a second pair of feet, human feet, appeared in the near distance; the feet were attached to a slender, feminine body, and although it wasn't entirely clear, he could see up to her chest.

The figure raised its arm, and clicked its fingers.

In an instant, vision slipped away; the sound of smashed glass rang all around him, and he no longer felt anything. Once again, he panicked.

But then, his vision came back; this time, he seemed to be positioned much higher, in the air, it seemed. He was looking down upon two humanoid figures that seemed unidentifiable. One seemed to be a woman, the other a Lucario, just as he had expected.

What stroked him as odd was what the Lucario stood before; it seemed to be a pile of broken stone... on closer inspection, it seemed to be a statue; he could see an arm amidst the rubble. He had no control over his vision as it zoomed in on the destroyed statue, and what he saw nearly made him die from shock.

He could see the disembodied, cracked head of a Pikachu.

* * *

"Oh God!"

Aaron shot straight up from his curled up position and looked around; he was safely back in his room at the Pokemon Center, and his friends were asleep all around him.

He was panting heavily. "What the heck was that...? That Pikachu head... Was it... Ugh..." He felt sick just thinking about it. It couldn't have been! That couldn't have been _him, _shattered all over the ground! It was impossible!

Then he remembered the dream he had the previous night, in which he saw Emi – he supposed – and the Archeops, and the mysterious voice that followed. _These weren't just ordinary dreams, I began to think. They were cryptic in a way. They almost did seem like glimpses into the future... And if that's what's gonna happen in the future..._

"I wonder..." He said to himself, as he stared out the window into the bright and vibrant quarter moon blanketed by dark clouds. He recalled the conversation he and Emi had shared just hours earlier, ending with her mentioning the crystal borealis. "If I can talk to dead people there..." He scratched his chin and pondered. "I have to see them. They'll know what to do."

"And just who are you going to see?"

Aaron spun around to see Luke sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at him with utter absorption. "You're planning to run off into the night again, huh? You know what happens when you do, right?"

"Yeah," Aaron groaned. "But this is something I gotta do. It's been six years, y'know?"

When Luke realised who Aaron wanted to see, his mind was set immediately. "You're not going by yourself. I'm coming with you."

"Luke!"

"You don't need to worry, okay? If there are two of us this time, then nothing can go wrong!"

Aaron smirked. "Well, then... Mum? Dad? You'll be seeing me soon..."

* * *

Vale: It's a pretty dialogue-heavy chapter, I know, but never mind. Anyway, let's get onto the reviews I got.

SecretDisguise – I'm so glad somebody pointed out that Dylan and Dylbert are the lesser characters. Good to see I did something right. Thanks for the review, in general, anyway!

Jenakin Ramsobi – Congratulations! Dewey shall be in the story, come part 2. Like I (may have) said, Part 1 has been finalised, which means OCs that are accepted will appear in part 2. However, all the main roles have almost been filled, so if you want to be included in the story as a more valuable character, then get a hurry on!

Ryudo-kin – Yay! A new reader! Thanks for reading! I'd be scared as hell of Aaron in that state.

SamPD2 – Probably should have acknowledged you sooner, sorry, but it's about time you got back on FanFiction. As for the title, we'll see what happens. Everybody can vote for their fave title for the story on my profile page.

Oh, and Emi is an OC of mine. Not based on anybody.

And the five bucks is still there to whoever can guess who Bureka is inspired by! Come on! I thought it would have been obvious!


	33. Famous Last Words

***Chapter 33

The night was cold and lifeless. Rain drizzled down upon them; the ground squished under their sneaking feet, and reflections of the moon rippled within the muddy puddles.

Luke led Aaron through, considering Aaron's short sight and Luke's highly developed eyes. Even with the enthusiastic gecko as a guide, though, the blinded Pikachu's feet were soaked in minutes from stepping unsighted into puddles. "You sure you know where you're going?" Aaron asked quietly, shading his eyes from the light rain.

"Course I do," Luke replied, hopping from one spot of dry land to another. "I told you, I've been here before, while my mother went to her grandmother's funeral."

"Well, in that case, you're not doing a very good job."

"If I'm not doing a good job, then why are we standing directly under Mt. Coronet?"

Aaron looked up, and even though he was unable to see it fully, a tall mountain lurked over him, and for a second he thought, from his angle, that it would topple over at any second and crush the two of them. He got that feeling a lot.

Luke groaned, standing by his side. "You still haven't told me why we came here in the first place."

"I didn't?" Aaron replied suddenly, his fear of mountains toppling over having subsided. "I thought I... Ngh... Emi said something about a crystal borealis, where people can talk to people who have passed on."

And just like that, Luke's imaginary light bulb flickered on above his head. "You wanna talk to your mum and dad!"

Aaron nodded, now focused on his goal. "I just hope it isn't just folklore, or anything. I'm kinda depending on this..."

Sceptical, Luke had to ask; "But why? You shouldn't always be dwelling in the past-"

"I know." Aaron interrupted him suddenly. "Emi said the same thing. But..." He turned to Luke, who could see the restlessness in Aaron's eyes. "I really need this. I never truly got to say goodbye to them, at least." He was forcing himself to hold back his emotions. "I'd give anything to see mum and dad just one more time..."

Luke sniffled, and realised what was happening. "Aww, jeez, Azz! Cheer up! You're making me all emotional now!"

"...Sorry about that," Aaron replied, after a few seconds. "Just give me a warning if I'm getting too emotional for you."

Luke started for the large opening at Mt. Coronet's base, and Aaron followed, quivering in his imaginary boots – partly from cold, but mostly from anxiety. When they had disappeared inside, a bush nearby rustled, and a cat-like head, assumedly a Glameow, unsheathed itself from it.

"Breaker, breaker," The squeaky voice whispered, "this is Tomcat to Rubber Ducky, do you copy? Over."

An unknown, more masculine voice buzzed out of its elongated ear. "Copy that Tomcat, Rubber Ducky is in position. What is your status? Over."

The Glameow smirked. "The bird is in the cage, Rubber Ducky. I repeat; the bird is in the cage! Over and out!"

* * *

_It was hard for me to describe what Mt. Coronet looked like inside. Mostly because it was incredibly dark. I was sure glad Luke came along, because he could see pretty well. I just hoped we could find the crystal borealis._

"Aaron! Watch your foot!"

Before Aaron could halt himself, his left foot struck a rock sticking out of the ground, and he toppled over face-first into the dirt.

Luke chuckled from a few feet away. "I told you to watch out..."

Aaron jumped back up and brushed himself off. "Don't push your luck, buddy." He groaned. "I wish we just had a light or something... If I were a Raichu, I would glow in the dark, and we could see just fine..."

The two of them heard a voice from behind them. "Really? I didn't know that."

Both of them spun around to see an Emolga with a huge, childish grin pinned to its face, though it was panting. The group's bag was dangling from her neck. "Well... it's just as lucky that... I followed you guys here... huh?"

"Wha... Emi! But..." Aaron was well and truly surprised, knowing such a young girl would be trailing them through the night, all alone.

"No buts! I'm coming, too!" Emi declared, pouting.

_And there it was again. Emi's constant disregard for anything except her own happiness... Considering how serious I was to find this crystal borealis, having Emi come along, grinning all the way... I felt so relieved! _

"You're staring off into space again," Emi pointed out, but received no response from the motionless rodent.

Luke, however, chimed in, as he received their bag from Emi. "You get used to it, once you've known him as long as I have."

The two laughed, which caused Aaron to snap back to reality. "What are we laughing about?"

"We're laughing because you're a dunce," Luke replied, still chortling. "But... Anyway, why did you follow us here, Emi?"

The squirrel Pokemon smirked. "I never thought you'd ask! Watch this!" She spun around a few times, looking somewhat like an aspiring ballerina at her first dance recital; then, suddenly, she placed both feet firmly on the hard ground, and threw her arms into the air. "FLASH!"

Blinding light filled the area and blinded both Luke and Aaron for a few seconds; when they opened their eyes, they could see through the cave as if the sun itself were residing just nearby. Now everything was visible, but it still wasn't much to look at. Just an endless corridor of rocks, and Zubat hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"I don't know how it works," Emi continued, "but it works! So who cares?"

A strange answer did Emi receive, not from Aaron or Luke, but from voices deeper within the cave.

Then Luke did answer. "Apparently, they do."

"It's gotta be Team Galactic!" Aaron cried. "Kyogre said they would be here, too!"

"Kyogre?" Emi asked, puzzled.

Aaron waved it off. "We'll discuss it later. Let's just get in and get out. Caves aren't the wisest place for anybody to be fighting," He commented, remembering how he and the others were split up under Mt. Coronet a few days ago. "We could easily get caved in."

With Emi illuminating the area and leading the way, Aaron and Luke towed along behind her.

* * *

It had taken little over an hour, when the trio eventually did find the crystal borealis.

After some time of scourging through the cave, running into one dead end after another and waving through swarms of Zubat, they noticed a feint blue glow in the distance.

"There it is!" Aaron shouted, running ahead of the group, entranced by the glow. He shut out everything else from his mind, as he dashed for the crystal.

What he soon saw was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. It was a huge diamond-shaped crystal embedded into the wall, coloured a pearlescent blue and green, shifting with the slightest movement of his head.

_It was... It was so lustrous and radiant... To the point where I didn't even see the blue-haired figure standing before it. It frightened me a little when I heard the voice of this man say; _"It is such a shame that humanity has to disturb this wondrous gem's eternal sleep..."

Luke and Emi soon charged in, as Aaron quickly identified the voice, jumping into a battle-ready stance. "Cyrus!"

"Fool," he replied, "you said yourself this is not the best place to fight." He took his eyes off the crystal for a split second to eye his pursuer. "You wouldn't want to be crushed by a sudden rock fall, would you?"

Aaron could already feel himself psyching up, pupils expanding. "So long as you're out of the picture, I don't think it matters!"

"But what of your friends?"

He settled down, noticing the Treecko and Emolga behind him, staring worriedly at him.

"As I thought. You humans are so evocative."

Aaron growled, almost _sounding_ like a Pokemon for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

Cyrus smirked, which seemed out of place for him, before sheathing his hands in his silver jacket. "I was brought up by an old couple who adopted me at a very young age. They were loving parents and cared deeply for me, but they could not stop me from realising my goal... I simply came here to tell them, that this imperfect world shall soon be no more."

"So you're an orphan, too," Aaron replied, almost feeling sorry for him – until, of course, he remembered what exactly his goal was. "Don't think I'm gonna be all sympathetic for you, though. If we weren't in this cave, you'd be dead and gone."

"Yes... In this cave..." Cyrus began stroking his broad chin. "Why are _you _here, then?"

When Cyrus had asked him, Aaron had totally forgotten up until that point. "I don't see why I should have to tell you," He said sternly.

"No need. I already know why you're here." Cyrus gave him that suspicious look from side on again. "You wish to talk to Sarah and Allistair."

Aaron cried out in surprise.

"Then what is keeping you?" He asked in an eerily sarcastic tone. "Here is the crystal. I believe it is time you finally saw them."

_I couldn't figure out why he was so enthusiastic – well, as enthusiastic as Cyrus could possibly be – about my using the crystal. I got the feeling he was hatching some evil scheme on me, but... That was more or less in the back of my mind. I didn't care. I just wanted to see mum and dad again._

Warily, he stepped forward and stared into the crystal embedded in the wall. All fell silent as he readied himself to finally meet his parents.

He spoke. "...Mum? ...Dad? ...A-are you there?"

There was no response; the crystal continued to glow, and do nothing else.

"If you can hear me, then just... Please..." He felt like he wanted to cry. "Just for a minute..."

There was still no immediate response; in fact, the glow emanating from the crystal seemed to be growing softer and dimming with each passing second.

E was beginning to whimper silently. "Please... Just one last time_! Please!"_

With one last desperate shout from the whimpering boy, the crystal let loose a powerful flash of light, and he felt himself once again blinded, squeezing his watery eyes shut, as a mysterious whooshing sound was heard from in front of him. When he felt the light dimmer, he slowly opened his eyes... and what he saw nearly made him die from shock.

A womanly figure floated before them, surrounded by a bright halo of light; her long blonde hair flowed behind her as did her elegant white dress, both flowing against an invisible wind. As the non-existent wind died down, and the figure's features settled, she opened her eyes, and spoke.

"Aaron? Is that you?"

_I didn't know what to say. Here I was, standing before my own deceased mother, and she... was talking to me! It gave me goosebumps all over! _

Finally, he decided to speak. "Y-y-yes!" He cried shakily. "It's me, Aaron!"

What happened next caught him completely off guard. Sarah dived down from her heavenly hovering position and scooped her son up into her hands, squeezing him in her embrace and plastering his fur with kisses. "Oh, Azzie! My little munchkin! I've missed you so much!" She held him out, as if he was a pet of some sort and she was admiring his cuteness. "Well, I guess you really _are _a little munchkin now, aren't you?"

Even after the suffocating and playful ridicule, Aaron couldn't help but to smile back at his mother. "I've missed you calling me munchkin like that! It makes me so warm and fuzzy inside!" He grinned.

"So what has my little munchkin been up to, hm?"

The Pikachu's grin faded a little, realising what he had come here to discuss in the first place. "Oh... Um..."

"You don't need to tell me," She replied suddenly. "I know exactly what's going on. You're an Annuler, right?"

He sighed. "Yeah... That's what I wanted to ask you about..." The look of sorrow soon etched itself on his face again, just as easily as when he was happy. But then, he perked up. "Hey, wait! How did you know about me being an Annuler?"

Sarah laughed, which kind of scared her son. "That's Aaron for you! Always asking questions!" She began smothering him again, and Aaron instinctively began to push away.

"Hey, c'mon, mum! I'm sixteen now!"

She stopped, and placed him on the ground again. "I'm sorry, munchkin," she replied, "but I haven't seen you in six years, even if you are a little furball now."

He rubbed his neck, as he usually did. "It's good to see you too, mum, really! But... seriously, how did you know?"

The heavenly figure let out an elongated sigh, which seemed out of place considering her almost Emi-like nature. "This is going to be a little hard to believe..."

"Trust me," Luke butted in, as he and Emi stepped forward. "We're Pokemon now, and we're talking to you even though you're dead. I don't think a lot of things are counted as strange anymore."

"Well, yes, that is very abnormal, but... Aaron, this might shock you."

Aaron braced himself.

"Just like when you were told by Kyogre that you were an Annuler, I was told by Lugia that I was an Annuler too."

Aaron had received enough shocks that night to probably be vacant from his own skin. "You can't be serious!"

"Sure I can! What makes you think I can't? Look, I'll put on my serious face!" She spun around for a minute, hands to her face, then spun back around, removed her hands, and gave Aaron the sternest look he had ever seen from a woman. _Seriously, her forehead was so screwed up she looked like a witch woman's clothing! That's a scene I'll never get out of my head._

_But, on to more important things._

"You know what I mean, Mum," Aaron replied, as he and the others sweatdropped.

"I am serious."

"But you were killed by Team Galactic! I saw you!" Aaron suddenly snapped; this wasn't a scene he liked revisiting.

"'Fraid not. The electric shock didn't kill me, apparently. So your father and I were locked away, and we were to be the first to be experimented on in preparation for the big scheme that, apparently..." She stopped for a moment, taking the time to look at the rodent, lizard and flying squirrel that she towered over. "Cyrus has already hatched..." She sighed. "Well, anyway your father helped me to escape, but... but, I have no idea what happened to him."

_So all this time, my mother was an Annuler! She wasn't even killed by Team Galactic! Which means...? _"He could still be alive!" Aaron suddenly blurted out. "He is alive, I'm sure! If that electric shock failed to kill him, then I'm sure he would have escaped sooner or later!"

"We must hurry," Sarah suddenly said, with a worried look on her face. "You still haven't told me what you really came here for, munchkin."

But Aaron just grinned. "Mum, that's all I needed. I just wanted to see you! I..." He was beginning to cry again, but for a change, his tears were of joy. "...I couldn't be happier right now!" He held his stubby arms out. "C'mon, mum! Just one last hug before you go!"

With a joyous grin on her face as well, Sarah leaned over and scooped Aaron up in her arms again, but instead of smothering him like before, she gave him a warm, loose, but loving hug, before putting him down again. With that, she began to dissolve back into the crystal, shining with the colours of the borealis. "I don't want you to ever feel sorry for me again, Aaron!" She cried. "Don't mourn for me! You'll just be mourning for yourself...!"

With one final wave of blue and green, she was gone again, just as easily as she had appeared. Aaron stood staring with watery eyes into the crystal, in high spirits; even Luke and Emi were compelled to show some emotion, as Luke wiped his eyes and Emi displayed her usual big grin. She turned to Luke, seeing him rub his eyes."Don't tell me you're crying, too!" She supposed.

"I'm not crying!" He sniffled. "I... Just have something in my... Sniffle... Aww, heck! Who am I kidding? I can't help but to cry! It's only natural, right?" He took a big swab at his eye and wiped the tears away, flicking them to the ground.

But even with Luke emptying out his tear ducts like it was nobody's business, Aaron was obviously the most emotional – but, unlike him, he was in a joyous, cheerful mood. Seeing his mother alone made him grin with glee, but the fact that his father, supposedly dead for six years, could very well be alive! Such ideas excited him to no end.

"Mind if I interrupt the happy occasion for just a moment?" Emi disrupted. "Sorry to ruin it, but Cyrus is gone!"

She was right; where Cyrus once stood was now empty. And in place of his generally unemotional dialogue, the three of them could hear a very repetitive beeping sound coming from the ceiling at the entrance to the chamber.

Before they could even guess as to what the beeping was, their ears were deafened by an explosion. The ceiling crumbled; shards of rock came crashing down to the ground, piling up until once again, they were caved in.

"Crap!" Luke shouted. "We're trapped!"

"The Galactics must have left it there!" Emi assumed loudly. "So how the heck do we get out of this?"

Wanting an answer, both of them turned to Aaron, who stood staring at the newly-created obstacle, and all he did was smile.

"Uh, Azzie, you're creeping me out."

Luke was about to ask why he was so happy, but felt his question hastily answered when Aaron's pupils began to widen. "Wuh-oh, that cranky alter-ego of his is taking over," Luke said, though he wasn't very worried.

What did worry him a little, though, were the sparks flying from his cheeks; they weren't the usual yellow, or the red that they became when the Annulment kicked in; rather, they were an unusual shade of lime green. What also creeped him out was his near-constant chanting; "No more mourning! I gotta be strong! No more mourning! I gotta be strong!"

Luke and Emi leaped to the side, as Aaron charged forward, holding his fist back as it became engulfed in a flurry of green electricity. "Mum," he began to shout, "this one's for YOU!" He flung his fist straight into the wall of rocks, and with an almighty crashing roar, the rocks parted way, flinging them throughout the cave. In mere seconds, the path was cleared.

Luke and Emi cried out triumphantly, throwing their fists in the air. "Aaron, that was amazing!" Luke cried. "How the hell did you do that?"

But when they both turned to the aggravated Pikachu, they sweatdropped; just as quickly as he had gotten psyched up, he had calmed down again, and seemed disoriented. "What did I do again?"

* * *

"Yeah, he wasn't counting on the Annulment being fuelled by my own happiness, did he?" Aaron boasted, rubbing the back of his head.

It was early morning now, and Luke, Emi and the ever-cheerful Aaron had made their way back to Celestic Town's Pokemon Center to get in a few more hours of sleep, before everyone else woke up, and Aaron could boast to them – like he was doing now, as they all sat around a table nomming on Poke Chow.

"Sounds pretty lame," Dylan commented. "I mean, happiness? What is this, My Little Pony? Friendship is the _least _magical thing in the world, I reckon."

"Well, whatever. The point is, I saw my mum, and dad could still be alive. All in all, I think I'm pretty happy right now." The boastful Pikachu turned to face Dylan and Dylbert. "So, you two will be heading back for Jubilife this morning, huh?"

Dylbert immediately nodded, but Dylan showed signs of uncertainty. "I don't know if I should now," He began. "I think I wanna stay with you guys and help out."

"Not that you do anyway," Luke muttered under his breath, in which Aaron responded with an elbow to the nose. "Er-hem, I mean... Well, if that's what you want..."

"Dylan, I'll be fine," Aaron replied. "I appreciate the concern, but if you feel that you really want to go home, then be my guest."

"...I think I'll go home... for now," he replied ashamedly. "It's been an honour serving with you, cap'n."

Aaron gave him a stern but meaningful look, which said "Whatever." Then he turned to his new, easily excited Emolga friend, Emi. "So, what are you going to do now?"

Emi finished swallowing her breakfast, before turning to him. "Actually, mind if I ask a favour?"

Aaron's ears perked up.

"I... don't know how to say this... Um... I... Want to come with you."

Somehow, Aaron seemed disappointed. "Aww. I thought you wanted my autograph, or something."

"What?"

"I mean, of course you can come! It'll be nice to have a girl on the team."

The background changed from the typical Pokemon Center backdrop to one filled with cute feminine colours, as Emi spun around in circles for a moment, giggling childishly. "I get to go with Aaron! This is _so awesome!"_

But everyone else just sweatdropped, with Nick commenting; "Is everyone else as confused as I am?"

* * *

Vale: Thank Arceus, it's finished. This one took some real consideration and altering, but I guess I'm happy with it. (So long as Dylan and Dylbert are gone, for now.)

Anyway, reviews!

Tanon: Why, thank you. (And thanks again for the SSBB help!)

8TailFox: 10 out of 10? That makes me feel very special. *receives hug from Sarah*

Killerdude035: I doubt you mean any of this. You just skipped to Chapter 32 so you could try and guess my old computer password. You son of a bitch, you!

Jenakin Ramsobi: I like the sound of Dewey, even if it was a spur of the moment thing. But, anyway, I'm using him, and for all those still wondering, I'm going to need one more OC (excluding SamPD2's and possibly Ryudo-kin's) that is female, preferably. There are too many men!

Ryudo-kin: HAHAHAHAHAHA PHANGIRL IGEDDIT LOLOLOLOL

Er-hem.

"View my profile, and look up Ryu-Chu's profile." I did this and found nothing. Clearly I'm doing it wrong. But your OC might be in the running.

Anyway, thank you for the blessing and salute! That also makes me feel special. *receives another hug from Sarah*

...Well, until next time, I suppose!


	34. Giga Volt Tackle!

Vale: What the heck, time for an author's note. This chapter might seem disjointed from the last chapter as I'll be skipping directly from the Celestic Pokemon Center to the snowy path that leads to Snowpoint City, for plot-based purposes. What else is going to happen in Mt. Coronet, anyway?

On another note, I've decided that I'm not going to capitalise Pokemon names anymore – like I just did... Well, there's good reason for that! I've done it all the way through this fic, and I'd rather not go back and edit the whole thing so names of Pokemon (ahem) are lowercase, so I'll continue doing it for the rest of _Divine Intervention._ ...Don't give me that face. I'll punch it.

*****************************Chapter 34

_It was hard to explain, but I felt... lighter that day. Not lighter in terms of weight, but as in... Uh... A heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders, for lack of a less clichéd phrase. I'd seen my mum again, and found out that dad could still very well have been alive. That, plus Dylan and Dylbert had ran back home to their mummies and daddies, but I saw that as a good thing. No more "I'm a badass" from Dylan, and no more constant whingeing from Dylbert. Just me, and Luke, and Nick-_

"Oh, wow! This snow is so pretty!"

_-and Emi. Can't forget Emi. _

Aaron, Luke, Nick and their newfound friend Emi were standing outside the exit of Mt. Coronet's cave system, greeted warmly by a bright sheath of snow blanketing the side of the mountain. For humans, it would have been a struggle; the sun reflecting off the snow would be enough to make most people blind, but now, as Pokemon, there seemed to be some resistance from the blinding light. They could see it; they just couldn't _feel _it, per se.

Aaron loosed a childish grin. "This is my first time seeing snow in real life... It's... It's beautiful!"

"Makes me wish I were a Piplup," Nick replied with a similar smirk. "Then I could slide down the slope on my stomach!"

The four friends eyed each other, as if they were thinking exactly the same thing. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Luke asked.

"I'm thinking we should slide down the slope on our bellies, too!" Emi replied excitedly.

"Well, actually, I was thinking of Mexican food for some reason, but that works."

Emi was already making a dash for the slope. "You keep thinking about that while I beat you to the bottom!"

"No fair!" Luke called back, chasing after her. He turned back to Aaron and Nick briefly, as he crouched down and prepared to leap. "Last one down is a rotten egg out of Russell's butt!" With that he leaped into the air, arms outstretched, and disappeared down the slope.

"Oh no, he di-int!" Nick shouted, sprinting for the slope. Within seconds, he was skating down the slope as well, leaving Aaron the only one standing.

_...It sure looks scary... But, heck! Everyone else is doing it! Gotta loosen up and take the plunge!_ He took a deep breath, as he ducked forward and sprinted. _Here I go...!_

For a second, he let his body do all the work; he had no idea what was happening. Then he felt his ears flapping behind him like a schizophrenic pair of wings on a bird. He felt the rush of wind through his fur, and his tail tuck behind him, smooshed between his own pudgy body and the snow.

He opened his eyes.

And what a sight!

Rocks and trees were flying past him at speeds he thought he would never achieve, even in his fast new form, or on his back for that matter. It was incredible! The adrenaline rush of it! It was one of the most amazing things he had ever experienced.

He found that he could direct his body by leaning it left or right a little; as an oncoming tree sped towards him, he quickly leaned to the right, whizzing past the tree, almost skinning his side. More trees threatened to splatter against him, so he leaned to the right, clean sweeping through the lot until finally he reached the clearing towards the bottom of the mountain. Alongside him, he could see Nick, cruising down the slope on his stomach, and eyed him.

Nick eyed him back, gasped, and continued down the slope, faster than usual.

_No way! I'm not losing! _Doing the impossible, he flipped forward onto his stomach – on one hand, he wanted to reduce drag, but on the other hand he was just showing off – and careened down the slope, zooming past Nick. Before he could shout in presumed victory, he hit an incline that he didn't see before – and just as quickly, he left the incline. But there was no snow under him.

He was airborne!

"Holy crrraaaaaaaa-"

Before he could even finish his profanity as he was hurled through the air, he landed in a large pile of snow – head first, of course – and received a mouthful of the stuff. He pipped his head out to see that Nick had soon arrived at the bottom of the slope, with Luke and Emi pointing and laughing at him.

"Sorry, Nick, but you're the loser!"

The two continued laughing, before Luke realised something; "You're an egg out of Russell's butt!" They continued to laugh, and Nick grew agitated.

Aaron had propped himself back up onto his feet and joined Luke and Emi in their chanting; "You came out of Russell's butt! You came out of Russell's butt!"

"If we're quite done..!" Nick snapped back.

"Aww, come on! We're only messing around with you!" Emi replied, slapping him on the back.

"I know, but there's something a little more important than my origin now." He stared out past them into the scenery. "Look."

The other three, though still chuckling, turned to see what Nick was so hyped about, and when they saw, the laughter soon subsided.

There was nothing.

There was almost literally nothing for them to see, except for an endless blanket of snow.

"And how did you plan on getting past this, Aaron?" Nick replied, folding his arms.

"Like I said," Aaron sighed, "This is my first time in the snow. Now, I'm not sure what the big deal is." He began to walk towards the never-ending plain of snow, already starting to feel a distinct chill against his fur. "The faster we're out of here, the better."

-[]-

At the very least, the group had found themselves through the endless plain of snow. Much to their disliking, however, they found a mountainous area waiting for them at the end, and no sign of civilisation for miles. It had been hours, and they were getting very cold, very quickly. All four of them had folded their arms and crouched down towards the ground as they walked in an effort to remain warm, but the thick snow that they trailed through made sure to contradict that.

Shivering, Nick decided to speak up. "We can't be far... from Snowpoint... now..."

Luke sighed, or at least he thought he did; whatever sound came out of his chattering jaws did not sound like a sigh. "We are so... going to die."

Emi stared up into the nearby snow-covered mountains, and grew sorrowful, which was unusually unlike her. "When I said I wanted to tag along with you guys... I didn't mean... that I wanted to freeze to death along the way!" Finally, a nerve snapped. With what was left of her energy, she let loose one loud shriek of despair; "I DON'T WANNA DIE HERE!"

Big mistake.

The four of them stopped and stared up into the mountain, hearing a distant rumbling sound, and a cloud of white rushing down the incline at high speed.

"Sorry, Emi," Luke cried, "but we can't always have our own way!"

"Wha...?"

"For the love of Arceus, just run!"

But it was too late; before they even had the chance to escape, the wall of snow was right above them.

_The last thing I would have heard then was the colliding of snow against me, were it not for the whooshing sound I had heard mere milliseconds before. But, even then, everything went black._

_I thought I was dead. Again._

-[]-

"...And if it happens again, I'll put a lock on it so _no-one _can enjoy it!"

The stern words came from a fuming Rhyperior reading from a piece of paper, as a Charmeleon, an Excadrill and a Reuniclus stood before him, quivering in their non-existent loafers. The four of them stood outside a tent set up as part of a camp of sorts, located somewhere in the snowy regions of Snowpoint.

The Rhyperior continued, having exerted his power. "Right. Now, onto item six... Oh, my. This is quite serious..."

The Excadrill stepped forward. "What, item five wasn't serious?"

"Quiet, Bureka, or else I'll have you extradited!" The Rhyperior roared.

"What would you possibly extradite me for?" Bureka argued.

"You'll be extradited for... for not shutting up!"

Bureka piqued down.

"Good. Now that you're quiet and sensible..." There was a chuckle from among the Rhyperior's audience, but he waved it off. "The search for the frozen man has been temporarily postponed, which means we'll be here in Snowpoint for a little longer."

"What?" The Reuniclus replied in high-pitched revelation. "That is ridiculous! What possible reason could anyone have for keeping us here longer?"

"Well, Sumiye, according to intel received from Boomer back at base, Team Galactic are on their way here as we speak."

The three others gasped.

"Then we're screwed, Rhyder!" The Charmeleon cried in panic. "We don't have the technology or firepower to take them on!"

"We'll have reinforcements on the way very soon," The Rhyperior – Rhyder – affirmed, folding his bulky arms. "But, of course, there is someone else who could help us."

"The Pikachu?" Bureka questioned, and as if assuming that was the answer, continued. "I doubt he could help us much. He ain't as powerful as everyone makes him out to be. He's kinda lazy, actually."

-[]-

_I just wanted to keep sleeping. I wanted to, and would have if it weren't for the hot, heavy breaths of air that were slamming against my face and making me sweat at an unusually fast rate. _

Groggily, he opened his eyes... and got quite a shock when he saw the orange muzzle of a dragon-like creature staring down at him, breathing noisily. "Good morning, sleepyhead!" It replied, producing the voice of a middle-aged man.

"Um... Hi?" Aaron said warily. "Do I know you? Cause I don't think I've met a Charizard recently..."

The Charizard let out a hearty laugh. "No need to be alarmed! I managed to rescue you from that avalanche that your Emolga friend caused, that's all!"

Embarrassed, Aaron shook his head. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to be rude."

"Nah, that's alright," He replied cheerfully, stepping back from the Pikachu's face to give him some room. "I'm just glad I have company. Don't get too many people out this neck o' the woods..."

_I could only imagine why. _"Ahuh..." Now that he had finally woken up properly, Aaron decided to check out his surroundings; it was a log cabin, much like the ones in Celestic Town, but the backdrop outside the windows showed scenery of lush snow and forestry instead of mountains and... boringness. Inside was somewhat bare, except for three blue-sheeted beds with bedside tables lined next to them.

"So, listen," The Charizard continued, turning for the door. "Your friends are already awake, and I'm making soup. What kind of soup do you like? 'Cos I got all sorts of different flavours."

Before Aaron could answer, something struck him like a blow to the head. _Something seemed familiar bout this Charizard. The voice sounded so familiar... Like... Like it belonged to... my father...?_

_I remembered back to the day both mum and dad disappeared from my life, the day I was to first meet Pikachu. I remembered when we were at the store, when he kneeled down close to me, and said "You can have any Pokemon you want."_

The Charizard had disappeared from the room while Aaron had thought, and soon returned with several different cans of home-brand soup. "Let's see... I got chicken and corn... Pumpkin... Uh... Ravioli and vegetables... I mean, they're only home brand," He laughed, "but they don't taste that bad, and you can have any flavour you want."

"Um... Chicken and corn sounds great!" Aaron exclaimed suddenly, trying to contain himself, as the Charizard nodded affirmatively and walked back out of the room, soup cans in claw. _He sounds so familiar! _He began to think. _Just like my father! It couldn't possibly be him..._

-[]-

"He couldn't possibly take on anything much bigger than himself!" Bureka argued.

Charmeleon glared right back at him, stamping his foot in the snow. "You're saying I'm a liar?"

"Well, duhh." Bureka stuck out a long, lanky tongue at the lizard.

"Believe me, I've seen what he can do," Charmeleon rebelled. "He took out one of the Pokemon Hunter headquarters! He destroyed one of the Galactic's new GMP models in Veilstone! And he survived the explosion of an airship, escaping mere seconds before it exploded, even with injuries!" He raised an eyebrow at the Excadrill and folded his arms. "Unless you're not telling the truth, either."

"The kid's bright, I'll give him that," Bureka replied, flexing his claws. "But when it comes to combat, he needs more than a little training."

-[]-

"I think you could use a little training, kid."

As Aaron walked into the kitchen, he saw the Charizard eyeing him, holding a saucepan of chunky soup over a stove. "Training? Wh... What do you mean?"

"You're that kid who's after Team Galactic, aren't you?" The Charizard stuck a wooden spoon into the saucepan and began to stir.

"Oh, so you know, too..." He stopped, once again feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry. What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't," The dragon Pokemon replied, seemingly paying more attention to the soup than the curious little rodent. "And I would prefer not to say. Ever since the incident which caused us all to become Pokemon, some people have decided to conceal their identities, and start a new life, leaving the old one behind."

Aaron wanted answers, but he seemed to receive only questions when he expected otherwise. But, as he decided, there were more important things to worry about, like stopping Team Galactic. Family matters would have to wait... But he stopped himself again. _I have to know! If I don't find out now, I'll never know, because I won't even exist..._

The next few words that came out of the Charizard's muzzle startled Aaron. "I know what you're thinking, so to put your mind at ease, I am not your father."

"What? No, no, no! I wasn't thinking that at... Er..." He sweatdropped. "I... I'm so sorry! I didn't mean..."

"It's okay. I tend to get that a lot. I might not be your dad, but... I was good friends with him."

"Good friends?"

"We were so alike, the only thing that set us apart were our appearance." The Charizard placed the saucepan on the stove and turned to face Aaron, grinning. "And Pokemon battles, of course. I could never get the best of him there! He always had the upper hand, even when at a disadvantage!"

"Are you..."

"I was never very good at battling, but your father was really something!"

The dragon Pokemon was right; his father was a seriously competent Pokemon trainer, even to the point where he had made it to the top 16 in the Pokemon League. Plus, there was one other factor that Aaron decided was relevant; his father's favourite Pokemon was Milotic, not Charizard. "He was, wasn't he?" He replied with a hefty sigh, mostly of sorrow, but partly of relief.

"If it weren't for that Crustle's Stealth Rock, I betcha Allistair would've taken the championship for sure." He heard a beeping coming from the stove, and spun around again. "Ah! That'll be your soup! Why don't you go join your friends while I dish it out?"

"Yeah, sure." Aaron spun around to head for another room, presumably, until he saw Luke, Nick and Emi were sitting at a table behind him the whole time.

-[]-

"Trust me," Charmeleon replied, a grin lining his jaw. "He'll be receiving more than a little training, Bureka."

"How so?"

"Remember that isolated cabin we saw along the way here?"

"Oh, that place. What about it?"

-[]-

Aaron looked up at the weary Treecko between mouthfuls of chunky soup. "Hm? What about it?"

"I thought I saw one fly overhead this morning," Luke replied, "but I don't think it was Team Galactic's. It kinda looked like a gigantic fighter jet than anything else."

"And what, Team Galactic's doesn't?" Emi chimed in, probably sick of hearing voices other than her own for a change.

"Nope, I'd say theirs looks more like the Battleship Halberd, or something." He took a loud sip out of his bowl of pumpkin soup. "Not that it matters, I s'pose. This is something we should probably check out."

"We're headed that way, anyway," Nick butted in, having just finished soup, leaving a bowl of nothing but a tiny pea in it.

"So, it's settled!" Aaron shouted, leaping from the table. "If we're all ready..." He turned to the others, who all nodded in agreement. "We should probably leave for the Acuity Lakefront, then!" He turned back to the kitchen to see the Charizard was nowhere to be found. "Where'd he go?"

-[]-

Sumiye clung desperately to the tree as the airship hovered above and beyond, causing a great tremor. "Why is it flying at such a low altitude?" She cried, but her voice was drowned out by the roar of the vessel above. The commotion continued for almost a whole minute, before the airship had disappeared from her immediate sight. She ungrasped the tree and turned around to see the others, shaken badly, just as confused as she was. "Would someone care to explain?"

"It was an airship..." Charmeleon replied needlessly.

"I know that! Who did it belong to, is what I want to know!"

"It looked an awful lot like that airship from those Kirby games..."

-[]-

Opening the front door, Emi immediately felt a chilly breeze slap against her face, and hesitated to step outside, but when she received a push from a certain Totodile, she continued out. Aaron and Luke soon followed. "Ah well," Luke sighed. "I guess we'll just have to..." He stopped short, seeing a hulking orange figure standing amongst a bunch of nearby trees.

"Nah, there he is," Emi finished.

Aaron shoved through the group and called out to the Charizard. "Hey! We just wanted to say thanks for the hospitality and stuff!" He stood on his toes and waved to him, but he got no immediate response.

Then, the Charizard craned his neck around. "I don't think you should leave just yet."

"We'd love to stay," Nick replied, "but we have crime syndicates to take down, so-"

"No, I think Aaron should really see what I have to show him," The Charizard replied slyly, craning his neck back away from them.

Curious, Aaron stepped forward. "I don't mean to be rude, or anything, but could you make it quick?"

"That'll be up to you, kid," He replied.

"What do you..."

"You're an Annuler, right? Annulers are strong, feared creatures. They send their enemies fleeing in terror, trembling at their unmatched power! But, from what I've heard, you don't necessarily fit this description."

"It's not my fault!" Aaron snapped back suddenly. "Being an Annuler is really hard!" This triggered a chuckle from Emi and Luke.

"So, I'm going to help you. I'm going to do something a little... err... drastic, and when I do, there's no doubt your power will awaken. But when it does, it consumes you, and you have no control over it. You just don the back seat until your enraged self gives in, right?"

"Um..."

"You must fight it! When you learn to control your power properly, you will be a force to be reckoned with!" The Charizard spun around without warning, fierce fangs on full display. "Let's test this theory, then!" With a heavy stomp, the Charizard crouched down and leaped forward, wings catching the air, and zoomed straight for Aaron, claws outstretched. Instinctively, Aaron went prone on the cold snow, feeling the wind from the Charizard flap his ears around violently. He had dodged!

"Hey! Lemme go!"

He leaped up from the snow to see the Charizard was nowhere in sight, but grew anxious when he saw Nick and Emi staring into the sky, eyes wide with horror. So, he followed suit.

There was the Charizard, hovering in the air, with Luke locked within the grasp of his arm. He struggled as hard as he could to get free, but the dragon Pokemon's grasp was too strong.

"What are you doing with him?" Aaron screamed in fright. "Let him go!"

The Charizard gave it some thought as the gecko Pokemon squirmed in his grasp, before simply replying; "Nah."

"I didn't wanna do this... Not to someone who made such a delicious soup!" He charged up as much electricity as he could at such short notice, then unleashed it, aiming straight for the airborne opponent, but he had avoided it with ease.

"Is that the best you got, kid? Wow... To think, we trusted you with stopping Team Galactic! If that's the case..."

"Stop mocking me! Let Luke go this instant!"

This time, he didn't even answer. Instead, much to the horror of Luke, he tightened his grip as hard as he could, and he found he couldn't breathe.

"You wanna save your friend? You better think fast, kid!"

Aaron was already one step ahead of the Charizard; his muscles were tensing, his pupils expanding, all in the usual tense manner. Red sparks were flying from his cheeks. The Annulment was activating. But this time, there was something different about it – there was a voice in his head, sounding just like his but with a gruff quality to it. "_Destroy the enemy! Show no mercy!"_

_Of course! This was the exercise the Charizard was talking about! He wants me to rebel!_

There was the voice again. _"He's going to kill Luke! You must kill him instead!"_

_I won't kill him!_

"_But you must! You must not show mercy! Mercy is for the weak!"_

From the view of onlookers Emi and Nick, Aaron's mental struggle with the angrier version of himself made him look insane. "I won't let you take control!" He shouted at himself, stamping his foot on the ground and shaking his head furiously. "I'm in charge here! Now get out of my head!"

From above, Luke pounded on the Charizard's stomach, causing him to loosen his grip a little, and giving the gecko some air. "Was that really necessary?" He cried.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. But it was the only way to get the kid psyche-" He stopped himself short as he saw an ominous green glow emanating from below. "Ah! He's done it!"

"He's done what?" Luke asked, before looking down for himself.

Sparks of green electricity were forming around Aaron's body, enveloping him until it formed a perfect sphere, with more sparks flowing around it. Inside the sphere, Luke could see Aaron seemingly standing on all fours, gritting his teeth, as the sphere lifted him a few feet off the ground.

The Charizard eyed his captive. "I'm going to have to drop you now."

Before Luke could muster a reply, the Charizard loosened his grip and sent Luke plummeting to the world a few metres below, and before he landed in the snow with a soft thud, he heard three fierce words howl through the air...

"GIGA VOLT TACKLE!"

Without the slightest hint of hesitation, the crackling ball of green electrical energy that was Aaron charged straight for his opponent, soaring through the air at near-mach speed. He struck the Charizard with horrendous force, and upon doing so, sent a volley of electricity spiralling outward in all directions, intensifying the hit. The Charizard fell to the earth below, unconscious, and Aaron followed, still encompassed by the electric ball, landing right next to his downed opponent.

When the electricity faded, and Aaron was released from it, he looked directly at the Charizard, panicked, and rushed to his side. Before he could mourn, however, the Charizard began to turn transparent; panic was just as quickly replaced with confusion.

"Got ya there, didn't I?"

He spun around to see the Charizard landing right in front of him, smirking all the while. "The look on your face... It was priceless!"

"But how..."

"Duh. I used Double Team."

And confusion quickly turned into anger. "Holy crap, man!" He shouted, clenching his fists. "I thought I killed you! You had me almost crying because I thought I killed you, and here you are, and all you have to say for yourself is..." He waved his arms around like a lunatic. "'I used Double Team!' What the hell?"

"Dude, calm down," replied the voice of an also-smirking Totodile, who along with Emi and Luke, had decided to join the moment.

"You gotta admit," Emi laughed, "it was pretty funny! But, y'know, you're so cute like that!" She proceeded to grasp his cheeks and outstretch them, resulting in more amusing facial expressions.

"So long as you're happy, then," Aaron replied bitterly, removing Emi's tiny hands from his face, before sighing. "I suppose it doesn't really matter... I did, after all, learn how to use my Annulment properly... and use that attack."

"Yeah, what was up with the Giga Volt Tackle thing?" Luke asked sceptically.

"I dunno... Spur of the moment thing." He shrugged.

-[]-

"Here," The Charizard said, holding out several knitted garments to Aaron. "These are for you while you're here in the Snowpoint region, so the cold doesn't get the best of you."

Aaron took the garments whole-heartedly; there were three scarves and a pair of gloves, all of different colours, and immediately upon touching them, he felt just how warm and cosy they were. With an enthusiastic thanking, he shared them out amongst the others – Nick took the pair of black gloves, and Emi took a blue scarf, leaving Aaron and Luke to wear the remaining two red scarves. Once they had put them on, they decided to say their farewells and be on their way, and the Charizard waved as they disappeared into the cold morning.

With a tear in his eye, he said to himself, "He's grown up so much..."

-[]-

Aaron: Hiya, folks! I'm here in place of Vale this week/fortnight/whatever because he's sick again. The doctors say it is pneumonia, _again..._

Anyway, reviews!

Jenakin Ramsobi: Aww, that makes me want to cry, too! Then, of course, I think about the fact that I'm gonna die anyway, and I cry some more. Sigh...

Vale has informed me that not being serious was his original intention, and that he is glad you like it that way.

8TailFox: Thank you. You may have a cookie.

Tanon: Duh. Why do you think Vale got rid of them? I mean, they're just a couple of third wheels.

I'm going to give it away now, because nobody has gotten who Bureka was inspired by (somewhat) and that makes us upset. Bureka is Japanese for break, as in Giga Doryuu Bureka... as in Giga Drill Break... As in Kamina. God! I can't believe no-one got that! (And holy crap, I just got Excadrill's Japanese name. Go me!)

More Annulment screen time, just for you, then!

Vale has gotten some interesting OCs... But he said don't feel too bad. If he could think up OCs for the life of him, he wouldn't be asking.

Well, until next update! ...Good, Vale's asleep. Time for more Archer!


	35. This Day We Fight!

**********CHAPTER 35**********

He tried to hold back the tears, but he couldn't help himself... There was no-one there to see him so upset anyway. A thin stream of tears poured down his orange cheek, and the flame on his waving tail began to flicker weakly.

He collapsed on his bed with a mighty thump. "If only I could tell you, Aaron..."

-[oOo]-

Ever hesitant, Aaron and his entourage of constantly expanding and deteriorating friends were trudging through the snow en route to Lake Acuity. It was still only fairly early in the morning, and the sun was ablaze in the sky; yet, even with their new warm garments, the group were still cold.

"...Azzie, stop mulling over it," Emi replied, sticking a grabby paw underneath her scarf.

"I can't! That Charizard and my mother seemed so alike! Coincidence much?"

Nick chuckled. "Well, yeah, if the Charizard was a tall blonde woman who loved to smother her kids with incredibly constricting hugs."

"What?"

"I think you meant 'your father.'"

"And what did I say?"

"Your mother."

"Well, of course I'd say something stupid like that," Aaron retorted hastily. "If only Vale learned how to write dialogue properly!"

Suddenly, Vale's curly-haired head popped up in the sky. "Hey! I'm doing the best I can! I had pneumonia, you know!"

"Pneumonia, or writers' block?" Luke pouted.

"Err..." Just as quickly, Vale's floating head evaporated into the air, and the others pretended that they didn't see a thing.

And just as quickly, another figure appeared; this one was red, and a tail with a bright flame on the tip wagged behind. The figure – Charmeleon, on closer inspection – halted in front of them, panting heavily. "Oh, Aaron! Thank Arceus you all are here!"

_At first, I had trouble remembering who exactly this lizard was, but then I remembered that I had punched him in the face a couple times. _"Oh, um... Hey... I, uh..." Aaron was rubbing the back of his head whilst simultaneously scratching a finger under his itchy scarf. "I really should apologise for the, uh... The beating you up, and stuff..."

"I'm fine now," Charmeleon panted, "but right now we have more important things to worry about! I need you all to come with me!"

"What is it?" Luke asked with utmost curiosity.

"Team Galactic... are at Lake Acuity as we speak!"

-[oOo]-

"So what's the plan, then?" A Sandslash inquired, as he stood outside the tent talking to Rhyder.

The Rhyperior, with a stern voice, asked; "Do we have others on the way?"

"We have five of our elite squadrons on the way as we speak, sir."

"That might not be enough, though, Boomer."

"We've considered that, but Sumiye gave me a great idea. A few of the squadron members are going to go in and attempt to hijack a few of their GMPs, so at least then we'll have a fighting chance."

"That seems awfully familiar in a way," Rhyder replied, scratching his chin, thinking of a particularly manly anime. "...And it sounds risky. But, those kids are gonna need all the help they can get! Just because that little rodent's got that Annulment thing doesn't mean he can take down a whole crime syndicate in one fell swoop."

"I take offense to that!"

Both Rhyder and Boomer spun around to see Charmeleon leading a group of younger Pokemon towards them; both raised their eyebrows when they saw a red-scarved Pikachu. "I find the term 'rodent' to be demeaning and unnecessary!"

Rhyder leaned down towards Boomer and whispered in his ear. "This is the kid he was talkin' about?" He murmured through gritted teeth.

"Yes, that _is _him," Charmeleon replied, slightly aggravated. "He will be the single reason why you'll all be leaving here today with your backsides still attached to your backsides."

"Forgive me, then!" Rhyder replied, smiling – something he hadn't done ever since they had begun the operation a week ago. "I just didn't expect someone so small to be the Annuler..."

The group fell silent for a second, before Charmeleon motioned with a recoiling claw towards said rodent. "Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

"Well, my name's Aaron," The Pikachu replied, stepping forward towards Rhyder. "The meat loaf-mad Treecko is Luke, the stubborn little twit of a Totodile is Nick, and the schizophrenic fangirl Emolga is Emi."

"You all make quite an interesting team," Rhyder complimented. "Anyway, the name's Rhyder, and I am the leader of the Pokemon Crusaders!" He fist-pumped into the air heroically.

Boomer stepped forward. "He calls himself Rhyder, but in truth, his real name is-" The Sandslash was silenced by a mighty swing of Rhyder's tail towards his face. He grasped his jaw (as much as he could with his large claws) and continued. "Anyway, I'm Boomer."

"Boomer?" Nick inquired. "Why Boomer?"

"I was into chemistry as a kid, and one day... who knows what I put into that flask, but it sure made a big boom!" He stretched his arms out into the air.

"Let's meet the rest of the team," Rhyder interrupted, "before we tell you what's going on."

Rhyder led them into a large white tent; it was several times larger than the Rhyperior, obviously to accommodate his massive body size. Inside, there were several tables with laptops situated on them, and a few humanoid Pokemon operating them. Aaron observed others huddled around a coffee machine and a microwave, and he could smell the distinct and unpleasant aroma of seedy home-made mayonnaise – the one kind he couldn't stand.

A Reuniclus hovered by, and Rhyder signalled for it to join them. "Everybody, this is Sumiye. She's head of the Human Resources Department, and quite smart." He turned to the Reuniclus, who was staring blankly at Aaron. "Say hello, Sumiye!"

She still stared at the Pikachu, before deciding to speak. "I wonder... did you evolve from a Pichu, or did you become a Pikachu outright?"

"Err..." He felt like he was suddenly put on the spot. "I guess I skipped the Pichu phase..."

"Oh, that's a shame. You could've learned Nasty Plot as a Pichu, which would have benefited you greatly in terms of your ranged electrical attacks, such as Thunderbolt."

This was something Aaron had considered with his own Pikachu, and sometimes wished his Pikachu wasn't evolved when he had found him. "It would be great to know Nasty Plot, but I guess I focus more on physical attacks."

"Oh, no, no, no, that won't do at all!" Sumiye shook her head worriedly. "The Pikachu family is mostly well known for its special attack capabilities! While it can learn many physical attacks, it has no move to enhance the power of these attacks!"

"Wow... I feel like I'm on Serebii all over again..."

"That's enough, Sumiye," Rhyder disrupted, much to Sumiye's disappointment.

"You should at least teach yourself Magnet Rise!" She called out as Aaron, Rhyder and the others walked off.

Though Aaron was considering it, his pondering was cut short by Rhyder's strident voice. "I'm pretty sure you've met this one before."

Snapping out of his thought-provoked trance, Aaron looked up to see an Excadrill shakily holding a cup of coffee with the tip of his protruding claws.

"Yeah, we've met Bureka!" Luke cried, hand still under his scarf.. "He saved us from an exploding airship."

"That was nothing," Bureka replied, clumsily taking a sip of his beverage. "Hopefully I won't have to rescue your butts again today."

"Not today!" Aaron replied enthusiastically. "Just you wait 'til you see what I can do now!"

"Hmm, yes..." Rhyder pondered. "I think it's about time we got on to more important matters. You'll have to meet the others at another time." He led the group, now including Bureka, over to a map of the area of Snowpoint City, which hung off the roof of the tent. As he began to explain, several other Pokemon began to join them and listen in; among Charmeleon, Bureka and Sumiye, a Gallade, a Serperior and an Espeon also joined the group, as well as a Dewott, who seemed to eye Aaron subtlely from behind Bureka. Aaron tried to sneak a peek back, but stopped short when he heard Rhyder starting to explain things.

The Rhyperior held out a hulky hand towards the map, a claw pointing to the middle of Lake Acuity. "There they are, right bang smack in the middle of the lake. They intend to find, awaken and steal Uxie, the fairy Pokemon that lives under the lake. And we all know what happens when those Galactic bastards get a hold of all three of these Pokemon, don't we?" An unenthusiastic mumble of approval emerged from the rest of the team, and Rhyder lowered his eyelids at them.

However Emi was confused. "What'll happen if they get a hold of those Pokemon?"

The Espeon stepped forward, and emitted from its mouth was the soft, heavenly voice of a young woman. "Cyrus could then forge the red chains, and take control of Dialga, deity of time, and Palkia, deity of space. Once he does, then there's no way to stop Team Galactic..."

"I wouldn't count on it, Freya," The Gallade replied, fist-pumping all the while. "We'll take 'em out before they even lay eyes on Dialga and Palkia!"

"You cause more trouble than you stop, if you ask me," The Dewott replied with a slight smirk.

After a small but audible chuckle from the group, Rhyder cleared his throat, and when he was sure the quiet laughter had ceased, he continued. "But, even with the numbers we have, the Galactics have access to their GMPs-" He eyed Aaron and the others – "which stands for Galactic Mecha Prototype. Even in their prototype stage, they've been mass-produced, and still pose quite a threat. So, as Boomer and Sumiye have proposed, we get a hold of a few of these GMPs for ourselves!"

"You're kidding!" The Gallade cried in reply.

"This ain't the time for jokes," Rhyder replied, folding his arms. "I'm dead serious! Maybe then, we'll have a chance of standing up to them!"

"Plus, of course, we do have a few passer-bys to help out, too," Bureka announced, eyeing the four teenagers who had arrived only minutes before. "If Charmeleon's accusations are correct..."

Charmeleon shoved him to the side, butting in. "Then Team Galactic will be HISTORY!"

_He must have been enthusiastic about me, I thought. After all, that was one of the few times in this fanfic that speech has been capitalised. _"Aww, shucks..." Aaron replied, swiping his foot against the makeshift floor.

When everyone heard the sound of what seemed to be helicopters outside, Rhyder smiled. With an overriding voice, he began to direct the others in preparation for the battle ahead. A few of the members of the Crusaders present at that briefing were apparently squadron leaders, if only temporary leaders for this circumstance; Charmeleon, Bureka, Boomer, the Gallade and the Serperior were all set to lead separate groups into combat, so as to provide a little bit of organisation amongst them. Freya, the Espeon, was in charge of central communications between these squadrons; Rhyder would monitor the situation, and order Freya to contact the squadrons if anything went wrong, or if they needed to retreat suddenly. Sumiye felt somewhat useless, so she was to stay with Freya, being inexperienced for combat, and Emi decided to stay with the two of them.

Outside, the squadrons assembled; each group had around thirty members to them, which didn't seem like a huge amount at the time. This left only Aaron, Luke and Nick not assigned to a group.

"We're not feeling left out, are we?"

The three of them spun around to see the Dewott standing before them, smiling. "Rhyder has told me you'll be joining me in Terra's squadron."

"Sweet," was Aaron's simple-minded reply, as the two greeted each other. "I'm Aaron. And as much as I would like to introduce the others to you, I've already done that once this chapter, so that would be kind of redundant."

"No need," the Dewott replied, waving his hands. "I already know who you all are. Rhyder has told me that I need to keep a close eye on you, for some strange reason..." He began to ponder for a moment. "It doesn't matter. I'm not one to disobey direct orders." He held out a paw towards Aaron, and the Pikachu just as quickly grasped it and shook. "The name's Sam Wottson, but you can call me Dewey."

Nick laughed. "Dewey? Holy crap, that's funny."

"I would ignore him," Luke explained, stepping forward to meet Dewey. "His sense of humour is terrible. You know that scene in Kick-Ass, where Big Daddy gets burned to death? He _laughed _at that."

"I mean, yeah, that movie's supposed to be funny," Aaron continued, "but whoever laughs at that scene is just evil!" He shook his head in realisation. "Argh! What am I talking about? Shouldn't we be heading out now? Y'know, to go kick some Galactic butt?"

"Of course," Dewey replied, leading them over to the rest of the team.

-[oOo]-

Meanwhile, back at the temporary Crusaders' base, Emi stared blankly into the many monitors that lined the wall, showing nothing more than scenes of the snow outside the base.

"They're cameras attached to the helicopters," Freya began to explain, striding up alongside her. "Rhyder and I monitor the situation with these, and when it looks like we need to pull back or something, I'll tell them through telepathy."

"You can speak telepathically?" Emi asked excitedly.

_Of course I can._

She shrieked and leaped into the air when she heard the Espeon's voice rumour through her head. "Wow! That's awesome!"

"It's..." Freya was blushing. "...Nothing special, really..." She spun back around to the monitors littered across the wall. "After all, it comes naturally to us psychic types."

Rhyder soon appeared behind them, and Freya was told to contact the leaders to verify they were prepared.

"Okay, then..." She closed her eyes. "Squadron 1? Team Night Slash, are you there?"

She heard a voice rebound back at her; it was the voice of Garth, the Gallade. "I hear ya loud and clear, Freya. Ready to go!"

Emi was downright confused. "How the heck do you know if they're ready or not? I mean, they might not be a Psychic type like you, so..."

"They just talk normally, and I can hear them," Freya explained plainly. "It's quite simple, and saves us a fortune on communications equipment." She closed her eyes again. "Squadron 2? Team Flare Blitz? Are you there?"

Charmeleon's voice echoed in reply; "Ready to go, Freya. Standing by."

"Good. Squadron 3? Team Rapid Spin? Do you copy?"

"We hear ya," Boomer replied from afar, "and we're ready whenever you are."

"Okay... Squadron 4? Team..." She sighed. "Team Bureka Drill Run?"

"Hey! Don't diss the team name!" Bureka's voice bellowed. "Of course you wouldn't realise how awesome it is... You're just a girl."

"Are you ready to go, or not?" Freya replied, sounding somewhat agitated; to bystanders Emi and Sumiye, this seemed out of character.

Bureka grunted. "We're ready."

"Good... That leaves just one more group to check on in..."

-[oOo]-

Aaron's paw was wedged between his neck and his red scarf, scratching away, as he, Luke and Nick listened in on the Serperior's instructions.

"Rhyder tells me that Boomer and Team Rapid Spin will be the ones protecting Uxie from being captured," the Serperior continued, a voice barely deeper than Aaron's emanating from his muzzle., "and the other teams have been charged with dealing with the ground units. But while some of us will also be staying on the ground and helping fight against the GMPs, a few of you will be launching a full-scale assault on the airship itself, which, if successful, will mean the Galactics will not be able to escape, and Uxie will be safe!"

There was a cheer from the team, but Luke was more than sceptical. "How exactly are we going about that?"

"All we need to do is get up on the airship and execute the self-destruct sequence."

For the most part there was silence, except for Aaron's audible sigh. _What is this? National Blow Up Every Airship You See Week, or something? _

Dewey stepped in. "Terra's set aside a couple flyers to get a few of us up there, and then we find the terminal, or computer, or whatever they have up there, and shut 'em down!"

"And what if Boomer's team fails and Uxie ends up on the airship?"

"You're full of questions, aren't ya?" Dewey replied, eyeing him curiously. "And besides, you honestly thought I would have overlooked such important details as those? If Uxie is on the airship, we make it our number one priority in rescuing him, or her. Simple!"

Luke nodded in agreement. "So, who's going up there, then?"

"I wanna take you three up there with me. Mostly because I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on Aaron..." He eyed the yellow mouse, who was still scratching away madly underneath his scarf. "But mostly because I wanna see how you all handle a combat situation."

"I'll save you the effort and say... We're mostly rookies at this stuff," Nick replied.

"Well then, this will be your chance to prove yourselves!"

"But what if we fail?"

Dewey removed the two scalchops from his sides and flashed them before Nick's very eyes. "Then I'll slice that thick head of yours clean off your neck with my own two scalchops!"

Nick mentally crapped himself.

"Got ya, didn't I?" Dewey stepped back, laughing, and re-attached the two shells to his sides. "I'll let you keep your head today."

The laughter ceased when Terra, the Serperior, heard a feminine voice echo in his head. "Freya to Squadron five! Team Light Screen, what's your status?"

"Ready when you are, Freya," Terra replied.

"Everyone's ready, then!" The voice disappeared for a minute, and then chimed in again. "Attention all squadrons, this is Freya speaking on behalf of Crusaders leader Rhyder! Rhyder has informed me that you are all to move out on your own accord, whenever you are all ready, but he warns to make haste! That is all!"

Terra turned to the rest of the team, the smug smirk on his face asserting his determinedness. "Team Light Screen, time to move out!" And with that, the squadron scattered off into the nearby forest, in the direction of the lake.

-[oOo]-

_The minute we stepped out of hiding and into the battle zone, I could already feel myself getting tense... And I could already hear that voice inside my head... _

"_So... Who are we gonna kill today?"_

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise you were in charge, evil version of me."

"_But I am. And I say we fly straight up there and kill 'em all!"_

"That does sound good, but I don't intend on doing what you say."

"_It doesn't matter, because I can control you anyway!"_

"...Yeah... I think I'm just gonna ignore you..."

The voice had probably said something else to him, but he didn't hear it; he was too busy focusing on the giant mechanical foot that had almost stomped on them mercilessly. ttached to this enormous foot was a twelve-foot tall mecha, coloured mostly red except for the silver chest plate, and the Galactic logo that centred itself on it.

Dewey readied himself into a battle stance. "Flyers! Get up to the airship!" He grabbed his scalchops, removed them, and began to flourish them – he was performing Swords Dance. "Everyone else, give 'em hell!"

With another enthusiastic battle cry, the rest of the squadron hastily parted ways, and rushed for their enemies in the very near distance.

-[oOo]-

"Flyers! Get up to the airship!" Aaron heard Dewey shout amidst the flourishes of his scalchops.

_That's my cue..._ With a short but loud cry, Aaron was once again engulfed in a sphere of green electricity, and a split-second later, he was charging straight for the airship, leaving a bright trail of lime sparks behind him. Luke and Nick followed closely behind, one of two small parties mounted (ahem) upon the backs of two Staraptor.

Aaron stopped briefly in mid-air when he got closer to the hovering aircraft, the array of electricity coursing around him settling vaguely. _But how do I get in?_

He caught sight of one of the airship's cannons, affixed to the side of the vessel, just beside the wing.

_Unconventional, sure, but practical! _The electricity flared up again, and once more was the yellow rodent tearing through the sky. He approached the cannon; just as it fired what seemed to be a missile of some sort, he charged in, and with all his force, tore straight into the cannon's opening and straight through, tearing it apart all the while. With one burst of electricity was the cannon obliterated, and in Aaron's wake was a gaping hole, with two Staraptor hovering outside, gaping beaks clearly evident.

He hadn't taken in his surroundings just yet, but still Aaron landed on the floor, and the veil of electricity faded just as quickly as it had appeared before. The two birds flew in, and the Pokemon hitching a ride quickly jumped off; present with Luke and Nick were an Aipom and a Hitmonchan, both decidedly jittery and nervous.

As they grouped, Aaron stomped his foot on the ground in irritation. "Damnit! I forgot to yell 'Giga Volt Tackle!'"

-[oOo]-

_Swish!_

A narrow miss, avoided only by a nimble leap to the side. Another barrage of punches forced the Dewott to roll to the side, one mighty fist coming close enough to leave a graze on his skin.

Without hesitation, he lunged forward, scalchops in hand. He raised them into the air and slashed at the mecha's leg; in an instant, it was no longer attached to the body, and the metal giant collapsed to the ground.

Barely breaking a sweat, Dewey was hardly given time to stand upright as two more mechas appeared behind him. The two raised their fists and brought them down hard and fast, but another nimble roll forward assured his safety. He spun around and swung his scalchops at the first; sparks burst out the back of the mecha's leg as the mechanical body crumpled to the snow. The second machine turned for the otter Pokemon, raising its foot into the air and bringing it down hard; Dewey had only realised what was happening when it was too late.

_Whoosh!_

He looked up to see a Staraptor soaring past them, and heard the mecha crashing down onto the ground behind them, feeling the vibration under his feet.

The Staraptor landed in front of him, and gave an overconfident grin. "That guy made the same stupid mistake as you did!"

"Don't get cocky," Dewey replied, relieved but agitated. "It was a one-off thing. He just caught me off guard."

"I s'pose someone as small as you wouldn't be able to take on two GMPs at once... Lucky for you, my Brave Bird saved the day!"

"Yeah, yeah, Rush. Come on, let's get up to the airship."

-[oOo]-

"Sir, one of the main cannons is malfunctioning... No... Scratch that! It's been taken out completely!"

A sky-blue-haired woman was desperately scanning a computer screen with her eyes, as Cyrus stood over the top of her.

"What's more, there's been a breach! Someone made it onto the airship! And none of the GMPs have returned to the airship yet!"

"So the enemy is on board?" Cyrus announced blankly and needlessly.

"That seems to be the case..."

Cyrus mumbled. "Do we have video footage?"

"Hang on a sec..." The woman's fingers danced over the keyboard briefly, and on the monitor, a view of the scenery outside appeared. Cyrus and the woman watched as a ball of green electricity charged straight for the camera, before nothing but static covered the screen.

Once again, Cyrus mumbled to himself. "The Annuler is here..."

-[oOo]-

Having settled down for the most part, Aaron began to examine the room they were in; it was nothing more than a dull grey room with a few silver crates, with the stylized "G" on their sides. "Kinda reminds me of Mass Effect, for some reason," He said to himself. "As long as we don't have to go through any annoying elevator sequences..."

He heard the heavy flapping of wings, and when he turned around he saw a Staraptor landing in the room, and a Dewott hastily leaping off its back. "Now that we're all accounted for," Dewey began, "let's blow this airship up!"

The two Staraptor had taken off to partake in the battle below, leaving the remaining party to proceed ahead.

"I think we should head to the front of the airship," Luke suggested, "or whatever you call it. It's not like I'm an expert on these things."

"Good idea," Dewey replied, already heading through the next door. The others followed; they sighed extra hard when they saw the next room was more of the same dull grey walls and silver crates. "It's like... It's like the level designers from The Conduit designed this place," Dewey joked.

"Epic burn!" Aaron shouted, amused. "But I doubt they would even put a fan into one of the walls," He continued, pointing towards a black fan on the east side of the room, built into the wall, slowly spinning. "That would be too much detail."

"Let's just keep going," Dewey ordered calmly. He wandered for the door ahead, which opened automatically upon his presence. Hastily, the others began to follow.

However, Aaron stopped short, taking a whiff of the air. A pleasing aroma drifted into his nostrils, one that reminded him of chlorine. "What the heck is that smell...?"

The Hitmonchan was next to smell the aroma, though it seemed less pleasing to him. "It smells real funky!"

"You've always been such a whiner, Jack," The Aipom replied, before smelling it himself. "Ugh! I take that back! It smells like a wet Snubbull!"

"See what I mean, Xavier? It smells..." Jack finished, but barely, as he began to feel queasy, stumbling over his two feet. "Whoa, man... I feel..." He didn't finish; his pupils dilated, his arms drooped to his sides, and his mouth hung open, saliva hanging from his lip.

"Jack! Are you o... Are you... Are... Uhh..." Xavier sighed sighed, as he began to fall limp and lifeless just as Jack had.

Soon enough, Aaron, Luke and Nick had followed suit.

Dewey looked back upon them, wide-eyed with revulsion. "What's going on?" He cried, clasping his hands over his muzzle. "I gotta stop this!" Still shielding the aroma, or gas, as he had now presumed, he escaped out of the room – the door slamming shut behind him – and began aimlessly sprinting down the hallway that presented itself before him.

Back in the gassed room, however, Aaron wasn't feeling so great. His view seemed distorted, blurry, and it was spinning rapidly, hastily making him dizzy. He grasped his head vigorously and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping the delusion would cease, and when he felt the dizziness fade, he blinked his eyes open, and gasped.

Instead of the distorted images of the airship's interior, he saw... Flowers... Yellow flowers, for seemingly miles, with only a tree that towered over him to break the scenery. The sky was clear of clouds, and the sun's radiance washed over his skin like...

_Wait... Skin?_

Startled by the feeling of warmth on skin, he looked down; instead of yellow paws attached to stubby, furry arms, he saw long, thick appendages with hands clad in black and green fingerless gloves. He saw white joggers on his – what he assumed to be – five-toed feet, below where jeans clad his somewhat long legs. A black shirt with 'Dethklok' stretched across it in stylized white letters covered his torso (_Remember! I'm a metalhead! I said that soooo many chapters ago). _He placed his gloved hands on his head, and felt the familiar but strange feeling of spiky, greased hair.

"I... I'm human again...?"

He was quaking in his boots – er, joggers – looking over at his human body. He was about to blatantly ask himself how this had happened, when he caught sight of two human figures in the distance, strolling through the meadows. One had similarly spiky hair to him, only less symmetrical, and another had long, flowing shoulder-length hair. It was all he could make out there, not being able to see the rest of their silhouettes amongst the flowers, but he had a hunch of who it could be.

The smile that spread across his face then suggested he couldn't have been any happier.

-[oOo]-

Vale: Ooh, I wonder who it could be!

Aaron: No, you don't. You wrote it. You know who it is.

Vale: Aww, that's great. Just (expletive) the illusion for the audience, huh?

Aaron: Audience? Ha! It's not much of an audience. In numbers, I mean, Your followers are cool, of course.

Vale: Good, keep telling yourself that. Meanwhile, I have to reply to the reviews of these followers.

Aaron: No, you don't. In fact, maybe the story would be better without them?

Vale: I am so close to castrating you.

Anyway, reviews! **Mewtastic** says that Divine Intervention could almost be a book, were it not for copyright violations. I say the creators should be more like the creators of Star Trek. Some Star Trek fanfics actually get published! Of course, I hate Star Trek, so it's pointless to mull over it. Anyway, thank you.

**SamPD2 **says stuff about OCs. I do feel sorry about your OC submission, but it is kinda hard to come up with believable characters. If anything, Aaron is incredibly unbelievable! *snarls at Aaron*

**Tanon**, your wish of kicking Galactic ass and seeing Bureka ragequit has not yet been fulfilled. But it shall, soon enough. Also, stop confusing DI for other stories. And yay for paradoxes! Though dread is so not an emotion.

**Jenakin Ramsobi **has once again replied with a long review, which makes me happy and makes me much less bored during my life. Hakuna Matata.

Emi, like many of my characters, was created on a whim. I like to imagine she either has the voice of Rikku or Haruhi Suzimiya. It enhances her character a lot.

As for capitalizing, well, I might go back and edit the lot to make it lowercase, then maybe I'll get more views. That's the way people like it these days – but I think that's a paradox in itself, because the Pokemon games do the same thing, so... I CALL PARADOX!

Hmm... It could be his dad... But in order to preserve my integrity, it isn't. Maybe.

The prize is all mine! Whatever it was.

Those Crusaders are up to... Well, who knows! Probably nothing, also for integral reasons.

Aaron's Giga Volt Tackle was from SSBB, right! I had been waiting so long to put it in here.

...Wow, that was 200 words in itself! I'd better stop now.

But before I go... This chapter was fun. I made so many mistakes to the point where I even made fun of myself at the very beginning! Hehe... Still kinda rusty.

Also, Rush... That Staraptor. Who can guess where I got the name from? Except Tanon. You're not allowed to guess.


	36. I'm Commandeering This Airship!

Vale: Aw, damn. I said I wasn't gonna do author's notes at the start of a chapter anymore... Blergh...

Anyway. When this chapter is released, I'll have a poll up which I expect you to answer, boys and girls! I need to know whether you'd have all Pokemon species names in lowercase or uppercase, like I have been doing. If you vote lowercase, than this will be the last chapter in which I do uppercase names, and I might possibly head back and edit the rest into uppercase, too.

Now, for all those left hanging on the end of Chapter 35...

-[Chapter 35]-

Unclasping his paws from his muzzle, Dewey rushed down the hallway and for, what he was hoping, the bridge of the airship. _I don't know what the heck happened to those guys back there,_ Dewey thought as he charged forward, _but I'll have to find a way to get them out of it! If anyone knows anything about anything around here, they'll be up the front, ready to pilot this thing! I'll force it out of 'em!_

He detached the scalchops from his sides and readied himself for a possible scrap with any Galactics.

-[oOo]-

Aaron rubbed his eyes again, and then rubbed them harder when he realized a piece of wool from his gloves had caught in his eye. When he felt it was gone, he opened them again and lowered his hands. There was no doubt about what he saw; even through sore, blurry eyes, he could see the undeniably broad figure of his messy-haired father, and the model-like figure of his mother.

"Mum! Dad!" He suddenly shouted in surprise, dashing for them, arms spread out wide. "I can't believe it's you!"

The two parties finally caught up, and Aaron threw himself around them, but pulled himself back a little when he realised how different it felt to embrace them. When he pulled back, however, he noticed his mother was only up to his neck, and he was just up to his father's eyes. "...I haven't seen you for so long... I guess I'm still used to being a little kid when I hug you..."

He embraced them again, and both of his parents smiled. "We were having doubts that we would ever see you again, too, Azz," Allistair grinned, ruffling his hair like he did when he was little. Admittedly Aaron felt a little uncomfortable at this gesture (_Mostly because my hair is utterly perfect and having anybody touch it is like asking for a death warrant_) but he did somewhat miss the feeling he got when his father did that... That wonderful feeling that he knew he had his father watching over him.

He pulled himself back again, the two pairs of arms unclasping him. "I don't understand, though," He began, his happiness fading a little as it did when he was in deep thought about a particular subject. "You guys are gone for six or so years, and then I'm a Pikachu... and now all of that has been undone! What's going on?"

"Your father and I have a hunch," Sarah began to explain. "When you saw us captured by Team Galactic, you dashed home and collapsed when you arrived. You've been in a coma for six years,"

"A coma?" Aaron exclaimed.

"Your mother is right about the coma," Allistair sighed. "The sudden shock of seeing us... err... _die_ got to you, and your body just gave up. We soon escaped from them, the shock having not killed us, and rushed home to find you there. But it seems you were having strange illusions that you were a Pikachu, as well. That is easily explained."

"Yup!" Sarah exclaimed, nodding her head and grinning. "Turns out it was Darkrai all along! So we went and got a crescent moon from New Moon Island, and brought it back."

_That sounded pretty far-fetched to me. Regardless, I wasn't in the kind of mood for thinking about things. I just wanted to enjoy the moment._ "It's not important right now. What matters is that we're together again, right?"

-[oOo]-

"This is freaking crazy!" Luke exclaimed to himself, after brushing his wavy brown hair out of his eyes. "I'm my old self again, and I'm in some freaky cave! What the heck is going on?"

The cave in question was your typical looking cave, with one main difference; the walls were throbbing with a red glow, and extremely hot to the touch. Luke found this out the hard way, and resolved to stick to the middle of the path.

At the moment, Luke was making his way up a small incline, trotting through the dirt in his plain white sneakers. The bottom of his black tracksuit pants were covered in dust and smudges of dirt, and his white buttoned t-shirt was damp with sweat caused by the heat. _I'd give anything to have an air conditioner right now, _he noted to himself, too hot and tired to open his mouth.

His prayers were answered, somewhat, when he found himself at the top of the incline, and in a more open part of the cave. Before him was a bridge that led over to a circular platform in the middle of the room, and surrounding it was an immense pool of lava, and more glowing hot walls with smaller cave systems within. But it wasn't these bland features that interested him; instead, his eyes goggled upon the figure in the middle of the room. He began to froth unintentionally, laying eyes upon the head of a Groudon!

The Groudon stepped forward, and Luke jumped when he saw the rest of its body emerging from the shadows. There was a normal Groudon head, attached to a pristine, womanly body, large bust concealed within the restraints of an undersized pink bikini.

Luke's eyes almost burst out of his head, and his jaw dropped to the floor.

"Well, hello, handsome!" The anthropomorphic Groudon said, grey hands perched on her hourglass hips, slowly striding forward. "You must be the infamous Lukey Man."

Luke laughed, his cheeks noticeably red. "Does whatever a sexy stud does! Hehehe..."

"I'm curious. Can you swing from a thread, or not?" The Groudon lady replied, now only metres away. Luke found that he and the anthro were the same height as each other.

"Well, no, but there are a lot of other things I can do..."

(_Before we get too intimate!_)

-[oOo]-

Nick was just as confused as Aaron and Luke, having donned his flat hair and glasses again, as well as the physique one would expect from your classic high school 'nerd.' What confused him more was where he had found himself; it was just a big, empty area, surrounded by dense grey fog.

"Well, this sucks."

However, he stopped, when he heard the distinct noise of something flapping against the ground, approximately east of his position. He turned right and started walking, before coming across a Magikarp, flailing hopelessly against the cold, grey ground. Nick checked around; he assumed no-one else was around, so he scooped the Magikarp up in his hands, and held it up to his face.

"I do apologise, random Magikarp, but this is something I've always wanted to do!" He held out the helpless carp before him. "Besides, it's not like you can do much about it, anyways."

He began to jog forward, and dropped the Magikarp; before it hit the ground, Nick raised a foot and kicked it, sending it flying off through the fog. As it disappeared into the foggy air, he smiled and nodded. "My life is complete."

-[oOo]-

The bulking silver door whooshed open, and in jumped a Dewott, armed with its own two scalchops. Before he could even muster a witty remark before his foes, he stopped, and simply grinned.

Saturn stood before him, arms folded, grinning in a similar fashion, alongside a rather large Rampardos, raking its hulking foot against the metal floor.

Saturn sighed. "I was expecting the Pikachu, the Annuler, to show up here, but instead I get this little blue ferret thinking he can take us on!"

"Do I look like a ferret to you?" Dewey replied, and when he got a nod from his foe as a response, did a facepalm. "Anyways, don't act dumb! Aaron and the others are hallucinating, or something! I don't know what you morons are up to," He continued, flourishing his scalchops gracefully, "but I am here to put a stop to it."

Saturn laughed. "My, my, how funny! You're going to slice us up with those tiny little seashells! Oh, this should be a laugh!" He threw a pointing finger forward. "Rampardos, take this intrepid fool out!"

-[oOo]-

Emi and Sumiye sat and hovered over the monitors, watching the action attentively. Well, Sumiye was. Emi was jittery as all hell, bouncing up and down on her rear impatiently. "Oh my Arceus, how long is this going to take?"

"It's only been thirty minutes, Emi," Sumiye replied, not once looking away from the monitors. She suddenly jumped. "Oh, Boomer! What are you thinking? There are spikes everywhere! Rapid Spin, for the love of Arceus!"

Emi barged the annoyed Reuniclus out of the way and glanced at the monitor. "I dunno, Sumi, Boomer's doing pretty good to me. Look! He just took out two mechas at once! Ooh, and look at that handsome Buizel, trying to take down another mecha all on his own! He's so cute!"

Freya, who was perched behind them, shouted in surprise. "Wait! Boomer's fighting mechas? Isn't he supposed to be down in the cavern, protecting Uxie?"

The three of them fell silent.

"Damnit!" Freya cried as she started to create a mental link between her and the Sandslash. "Boomer! Boomer! This is Freya to Boomer! What's going on?"

She heard Boomer's voice echo in her head. "The Galactics have taken Uxie! They were too powerful! They had us outnumbered!"

"That makes sense," Sumiye procrastinated out aloud. "It's no wonder why the Crusaders would be doing so well on the surface, because all the mechas are down below, ensuring their theft of Uxie."

"Then shouldn't we have sent down more men, as well?" Emi replied smiling because she thought she had said something worthwhile.

"It doesn't matter now!" Freya shouted, though with her voice, it wasn't the loudest shout they had ever heard. "Boomer, where is Uxie now?"

On the monitor, Emi and Sumiye observed the mouse Pokemon slashing his way through another GMP. "I don't know! They all just flew off! They're probably back in the airship by now!"

Freya gasped. "I'll tell Dewey right away!"

-[oOo]-

Sarah had spread a white and red-chequered rug on the ground under the nearest tree, ensuring that shade covered the entire area. When she was sure, Allistair placed a picnic basket in the middle, and a brown acoustic guitar against the tree. The two of them sat on one side of the basket, and Allistair signalled with a waving hand for Aaron to sit opposite them.

He sat down, as Sarah was pulling out plates, and Allistair was reaching for the chicken loaf and bread. "So, Aaron," Allistair said in the midst of unwrapping the meat. "Tell us what happened in these dreams of yours."

Sarah handed a small white plate to Aaron, nodded in thanks, and began. "After I saw you guys die, I pretty much just stayed home for a few weeks, and I was really depressed. I had Pikachu to cheer me up, and eventually he convinced me to get outside and do something else apart from sulk and watch daytime TV, which I did. I started going back to school again," He explained, as Allistair handed him a slice of chicken loaf and two pieces of wholemeal bread, "and I made a lot of new friends... Dylan, Nick, Dylbert, Russell... I... I even had a crush, Alice. She was this beautiful blonde girl... I mean, she was short, like, really short, but I loved her nevertheless."

"So, you just went to school for the next six years?" Sarah replied, after swallowing a bite of her sandwich. "How did you get by?"

"My grandmother sent me some money every now and then," Aaron said amidst mouthfuls of his chicken sandwich. He swallowed, and continued. "I didn't want to leave any of my friends behind, so she just sent me money to get by, and I could stay. That's... pretty much how life was the whole time, up until we became Pokemon."

"You became Pokemon?" Allistair asked, intrigued.

Aaron placed his partly eaten sandwich on his plate. "Team Galactic turned every human in the world into Pokemon, and then stole all the natural-born Pokemon. Then Kyogre tells me I'm this thing called an Annuler, and then I find out _you _were an Annuler, mum..."

At the mere mention of the word, Sarah stood up and made a half-dash for the guitar, leaning against the tree. "Hey, listen, Aaron. I've got an idea!"

"Don't you wanna hear more?" Aaron asked, somewhat confused.

"Perhaps later, munchkin," She replied, picking the guitar up by the neck and brought it to her puzzled son. "But right now, I think I'm in the mood for a song!"

"Um... Okay..." But Aaron simply stared at the wooden instrument now lying in his hands. _Are either mum or dad aware of the fact that I can't actually play guitar? I mean, I always wanted to play guitar, but I never learned to..._

"C'mon! I remember how well you could play guitar when you were younger!" Allistair cried, egging him on. "Remember how you used to play that song... um... what was it called now... oh, yes! Roundabout! Do you remember how to play Roundabout? You could play the acoustic parts of that almost perfectly!"

_Roundabout? That song by Yes? No way on Earth could I play that!_

"Go on, Azz!" His father continued excitedly. "Give it a whirl!"

With one long breath, Aaron placed his left hand on the neck, and his right hand instinctively took a pick handed to him from his father. He looked down... He shut out everything else around him... The chirping of the birds... The rustling in the trees... The excited shouting of his parents... All of it faded out, as he began to strum away.

To his surprise, he played it. Perfectly.

His parents cried in joy, but Aaron didn't hear it as he threw his fingers up and down the neck, strumming slowly, owning every note. _Holy crap! I'm playing the guitar!_

He stopped at the end of the acoustic section, which took a few minutes, and Allistair and Sarah cried out in joy and clapped their hands, while Aaron stood up and took a bow.

"Hey, hey! I've got another idea!" Allistair began. "Aaron! You should play American Pie!"

"Erm... I'm not sure if I can play that..." _Probably not. I have enough trouble with American Pie on Band Hero..._

"Aww, don't be a spoilsport! Come on, start from the chorus! We'll sing along!"

Reluctantly, Aaron reached for the guitar again, slumping back down onto the ground, and hoped for another miracle. _Something damn weird is going on._

-[oOo]-

"_Dewey!"_

The Dewott leaped back in haste after swinging his tail mightily against the Rampardos' thick blue skull, all the while hearing a voice reverberate through his mind. "I'm kinda busy here! Whaddaya want, Freya?"

"_Uxie is on the airship! I repeat, Uxie is on the airship!"_

"It is?" Dewey replied, swiftly leaping to the right as his foe brought his foot down heavily towards him. "I suppose blowing this thing up is out of the question, then, huh?"

Freya sighed and tuned out of Dewey's head, allowing him to focus on his enemy, who just so happened to be charging straight for him. Before the thick skull could make contact with his, in comparison, frail body, he bounded into the air, and while the Rampardos was attempting to slow down, he surrounded himself in a veil of water and charged straight for its back.

_CRACK!_

With one potent charge, the Rampardos had been knocked to the ground. Dewey jumped off the downed foe's back and landed beside it, dusting his paws off. "Anyone else?"

"Seems you're not as insignificant as I had implied," Saturn remarked, now seated in the comfort of a leather chair situated in the middle of the room, much like the Pokemon Hunter's vessel. "Hmm... What to do now?"

Dewey grinned. "Hey, come on now! You're not giving up so easily, are you?"

Saturn stood from his seat and began to stride slowly for the Dewott, arms folded, smirking slyly. "And just who do you think I am? You would think the all-powerful Saturn would never give into a fight offered by a ferret!"

"Once again, I am not a ferret," Dewey sighed.

"Far be it from me to tell you what species you are, but that is not important." Dewey growled as the Galactic commander continued. "What is important is that Cyrus has already escaped, and he has issued an order for the rest of us to follow suit."

"You're kidding! Why the change of heart?"

Saturn laughed heartily. "If it were up to me, you'd be nothing but a smear of blue and black on this floor!" He sighed in frustration. "But, unfortunately, orders are orders, so I must take leave." He pulled a Poke ball from his jacket and tossed it into the air; an Alakazam manifested from the release of energy. In an instant, the Psi Pokemon, the Galactic commander, and the downed Rampardos all began to glow in transparency.

-[oOo]-

Once again, Aaron's fingers danced along the frets, as a melody came out that he knew he wasn't capable of. Unbeknownst to this fact, Sarah and Allistair began to sing along, arms around each other, rocking back and forth to the rhythm...

"_We were singin' bye, bye Miss American Pie_

_Drive my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry_

_And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye_

_Singin' this'll be the day that I die..."_

And then, Aaron's tune slowly fade out. His parents weakly sang the last line, before realising completely that Aaron had dropped the guitar and stood up. "What's wrong, Azz?" Allistair asked, a little worried.

Aaron's face reeked of anger and confusion, his eyes hidden in the shadow of his eyebrows. "This isn't real..."

"What are you talking about...?"

"All of this... None of it is real!" Aaron shouted, lifting his head abruptly, revealing his eyes wide in anger. "There's no way on earth that any of this could be any more than a figment of my imagination!"

"But, son..."

The distraught teen pointed a protruding finger at the messy-haired man. "Don't 'son' me, you imposter! You have no right!"

Obviously, Allistair was shocked.

"I was never in a coma! I wouldn't just drop on the floor and never wake up again for six years!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, stepping backwards away from his supposed 'parents.' "And even if I ever learned to play guitar, do you really think I would want to play that old grandpa guitar?" He pointed to the acoustic guitar that lay on the picnic rug. "Think about it! My tastes lie in metal and alternative! They don't play acoustic!"

Allistair was quick to try to object, but Aaron was quicker. "And, it would not take six years to find New Moon Island! There's a boat going there from Canalave every third day!" His arms fell to his sides, and he clenched his fists. "You're not real. None of this is. It's all fake..."

He spun around, away from Sarah and Allistair, to stare at the meadows that lay before him, and the cloudless blue sky above. "You happy, Cyrus? You think you can try and hold me off with some stupid vision of my parents, or something like that!" He held out his arms, as if in embrace. "Why don't we just end this now? Stop hiding! Stop being a freaking coward!"

And just like that, everything went white.

Aaron was once again blinded; his eyes snapped shut immediately, but he wanted to open them and check upon himself, as he could feel his whole body being... compressed... covered in tiny hairs...

Whatever was happening, it was all too fast to describe, as it was over in a flash; just like that, the blinding light was gone, and Aaron opened his eyes again.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw a glossy white eye staring at him.

"Settle down!" The eye's owner cried, as Aaron fell back. "It's just me, Charmeleon."

Aaron sighed in relief; he noticed that he was back in the room they had started in, the dull grey room with white crates, and that Luke and Nick, as well as the Hitmonchan, Jack, and the Aipom, Xavier, were standing around, seemingly hallucinating. He looked himself over, and once again sighed when he found he was his (old) Pikachu self again, scarf and all.

"Rhyder ordered me and a few others up here when they heard that Uxie had been captured," Charmeleon continued, "but then I find you all here, and you all seemed to be... um, as you kids say... 'tripping balls...' He made quotation marks with his claws.

"I think I was dreaming," Aaron replied softly. "I saw my parents, and... Just... Everything in my dream was just so unrealistic... And when I realised it, I woke up."

"Your parents...?" Charmeleon asked, intrigued, but waved it off. "It's not important right now. What's important is, we've won!"

Aaron's eyes went wide in surprise. "We did? Wh... What happened?"

"Cyrus called for a retreat for some reason. They left Uxie, and their airship!"

"That's great!" Aaron replied enthusiastically. "Come on, let's wake up the others and find Dewey."

-[oOo]-

Jack and Xavier decided to ditch the group and return to the Crusaders' campsite, while Aaron, Nick, Luke and Charmeleon continued forward, headed for Dewey. They eventually did find him, at the front of the ship, walking towards some control panel.

Dewey spun around, hearing footsteps treading against the metal floor. "You're a bit late. I already took care of Saturn."

Luke sighed in disappointment. "They already left, huh?"

"Saturn went and teleported out of here, and the rest of 'em..."

Charmeleon stepped in. "The rest of them retreated Err... What's that in your hand?" He pointed a claw towards the silver spherical device that Dewey held in his paw. "Kinda looks like a VS Seeker."

Seemingly ignoring them, Dewey stepped up to the control panel, and placed a finger on the screen. The screen lit up in a flash of blue, before a speaker next to it blurted out; "Please confirm identity."

He held up the device to the screen and pressed a small button on the front. Dewey began; "Hi, I'm the biggest douche in the world and my name is..." The device responded with a fizzled but somewhat clear _"Saturn!"_

The computer responded with a friendly "Identity confirmed. Please enter password."

Dewey smiled, placing the device next to the console. "I recorded his voice while he was blabbering away. And, I scored a new ringtone, too!" He looked back at the console. "Hmm... Now for the password..."

The others huddled around him, and Nick thought of the first password that came to mind. "Try 'guest!'"

"Because that will totally work," Dewey replied, nevertheless keying it in anyway. He snacked ENTER, and the monitor lit up brightly, the computerized voice accompanying it with another friendly gesture.

"Access granted. All airship controls and functions now fully accessible."

Dewey facepalmed. "You've got to be kidding me."

Charmeleon soon shoved through, however, while Dewey was distracted by the stupidity of the Galactic's security system. "Perhaps I should take the helm, hmm?"

"Why?" Dewey replied.

"For one, I am experienced in operating aircraft," He replied. "Furthermore, there's something I've always wanted to say." A set of control sticks found themselves gripped tightly by Charmeleon's claws, and he found himself smirking. "I am commandeering this airship!"

-[oOo]-

Many of the helicopters had already landed outside the Crusaders' camp, and many of the Crusaders themselves had already found their way into the camp. A few of them had even occupied some of the Galactic Mechas, which they had soon jumped out of to join their comrades in celebration of their victory by default.

The victory celebration was soon cut short, however, when they noticed the Galactic airship hovering above. Whoever was piloting it brought it down hard and fast towards the ground, as four 'legs' mechanically lowered from the hull of the vessel, allowing the airship to land with a perfect _thud_ in the snow.

Rhyder stepped out from the main tent and looked up, groaning when he saw Dewey smiling waving from the front window.

-[oOo]-

Within about twenty minutes, the camp site was packed up, and almost no trace of their ever being there was left behind, as – save for the copter pilots – everyone had piled onto their new airship.

Aaron, Luke, Nick, Dewey and Charmeleon had been waiting in the bridge (_That's the front of the airship! Yay, I learned something!_) as Rhyder appeared in the doorway, barely fitting in on account of his big build. As ever, he groaned. "When will they build an automatic doorway for the husky gentleman?"

Dewey laughed, but when he saw the Crusader leader standing angrily over the top of him, he stood firm and straight. Rhyder waved him off. "At ease, Sam," He ordered. "It's not like you'll be taking my orders for a little while, anyway."

"I'm sorry, sir?" Dewey replied, as Rhyder took a seat in the leather chair in the middle of the room – surprisingly, he fit in it.

"Our aim as Crusaders," Rhyder began, folding his arms, "is pretty broad. But it all revolves around one thing; helping others. Team Galactic are a menace, a threat to our society, and as such we have an unofficial obligation to aid in the fight against them in any way possible. After all, we are freelancers."

"That's right, sir," Dewey replied, perching himself up atop one of the consoles and beside Aaron and Luke, who all listened tentatively. "But I still don't understand what you're getting at."

Rhyder started twiddling his claws, which looked rather strange. "As I said, we are obliged to help defeat the Galactics, but at the moment we are rather occupied with..." He eyed Aaron and Luke slyly, though they got the gesture. "I would say, but unfortunately, those two are not Crusaders."

"It's not like we're just some ordinary rabble of teenagers, are we?" Luke responded rather cheekily.

"Of course not, but rules are rules, I'm afraid. Now, we are occupied, so we won't be joining the fight just yet. But, Dewey, you will be joining it a little prematurely than everyone else."

"Sir? You want me to join them?"

"You always were quick to catch on, weren't you?" Rhyder smiled.

Aaron leaped off the console. "Sure thing! We'd be happy to look after your Dewott buddy here."

"I'm sorry," Dewey replied, "but I was under the impression that you were going to annul Cyrus and defeat Team Galactic, not run a babysitting service."

"Ooh, he's clever!" Luke cried excitedly. "I like him already!"

"Of course I'll do it, sir," Dewey replied in utter loyalty. "But, one question. What about Uxie?"

"One of our newest members, Dante, located him in one of the holding bays. He was remarkably quick at finding Uxie, but..." He sniffled. "I guess that's to be expected of a Weavile... Ooh, I think I'm getting a cold... I guess I'm not one for being in snow too long, hm?"

Ignoring Rhyder's complaints, Dewey grew suspicious. He wasn't sure, but back when he was human, he heard of an assassin named Dante, who struck with the claws of a Weavile as his weapon.

"I swear I've heard that name before," Nick butted in unexpectedly, appearing from having a conversation with Charmeleon, and Dewey began to grow hopeful. "Now, where did I hear it? Um... Oh, yeah! Wasn't he the main character in Devil May Cry or something?"

"I swear," Dewey growled through gritted teeth, "if I have to do another facepalm today, 'm going to give myself brain damage."

"I checked his background, and there is nothing to worry about!" Rhyder replied. "Now, if we could get back to what we were talking about..."

Dewey stood firm, and Nick shut his maw, afraid of sounding stupid again.

"We need to take the airship back to our quarters in Unova, but if I understand correctly, you'll be headed down to Lake Verity from here, right?"

Aaron nodded.

"It'll take a few hours to get there from here, but we can make the trip. It'll only add a few hours to our voyage back, so it's no huge deal. Until then, make yourselves at home." Rhyder stood from his chair, sniffled, and wiped his nostrils. "Dismissed!"

"Sir!" Dewey replied, before leading Aaron, Luke and Nick out of the bridge.

-[oOo]-

Back in Veilstone, Cyrus leaned against the tall fence that surrounded the rooftop of their headquarters, and an impatient Glameow was perched in front of him.

"But sir, why would you just give the airship away?" Malik asked, agitated.

"We have another," Cyrus replied impassively.

"But..."

"You're questioning me, Malik. That's a sign of weakness, and disloyalty."

Malik sweatdropped.

"If I were to have an advantage over these 'Crusaders,' then I would be no better than them, and of course, that is not true. So, I offered them a new aircraft, which shall even out the playing field when the time comes."

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of trying to best them in combat, though? If you have an advantage, you would win, anyway!"

But Cyrus simply stared at the cat Pokemon before him, as emotionally irrelevant as ever.

"Believe me, Malik, I _always _win."

-[oOo]-

Vale: Is that what a bridge is? I mean, I have no idea what the names of all the different areas in an airship or a plane or anything is called, but calling it a cockpit seemed unnatural, and made me laugh every time I thought of it.

So, reviews...

**Mewtastic **gazes in awe at my apparently long chapter! Well, it wasn't that long.

"Damnit, I forgot to yell Giga Volt Tackle!" Glad you liked it. That was my intention.

You should watch Gurren Lagann. If you did, you would get _a lot _of the jokes in Divine Intervention.

And you're reading too much into it.

**Jenakin Ramsobi** is the first (non-Australian) person to have an OC feature in DI, the lucky bastard. (Dewey, for all you slowpokes...) Anyway, glad I'm 'doing awesome' with him. Let's hope he continues to live up to your expectations.

**markzilla6895's **impatience worries me. I know, I'm trying to get through this as fast as I can, but he will appear soon. Like, _soon _soon. A few chapters soon.

**Tanon**__and his laws can stuff it. The fourth wall is mine to break whenever I want!

I know I spelt it wrong. I spelt it wrong then added it to the dictionary thinking MSWord was wrong. Bah!

Hehehe... I knew you'd like my reference to Rush! Now stop using my names you thief!

Ron Kennedy can also stuff it. Whatever I say goes.

I might get a new chapter posted again soon, but I doubt it – I'm doing mah exams soon, so I kinda gotta study. (And Tanon thinks he can complain that he doesn't release his chapters on time! Sheesh! He's already got more reviews than me, and (probably) topped me with words, too, so I think he doesn't have a lot to complain about!)


	37. The Unofficial Legend of the Annuler

**Vale: Ooh, my author's notes are in bold, now! Fancy.**

**Well, anyway, here's my first chapter in a while. And also thanks to Tanon who nitpicked every little mstake in this chapter. (But did he get that one?)**

-[Chapter 37]-

_It had only taken an hour, but we were already hovering over the vast ocean that separated Snowpoint from Canalave. In the near distance I could see the shores of the snowy city, and just under us I could barely make out a Wingull, floating in the air, wings outstretched, apparently chatting with a Finneon, whose head was being rocked back and forth by the restless waves. The Finneon soon disappeared under the waves, and the Wingull flew off into the distance, as our airship hovered over them._

_Strange to see such Pokemon talking to each other..._

"Aaron!"

The sudden shout made him jump and topple over, away from the window. He stood up and brushed himself off, noticing Dewey, Luke and Bureka standing before him, smirking. "Hope I didn't scare you," Dewey remarked.

"Me? No way!" The mouse Pokemon lied. "I'm an Annuler, for the love of God! I don't get scared by such things."

"Okay, then, big shot," Bureka replied, folding his arms. "Whatever you say, Annuler."

"I don't see anyone else going through with this!" He suddenly snapped, though not angrily.

"Maybe not now, but there have been others before you," Dewey explained. "And I betcha they were a lot more graceful and brave than you are."

Aaron had soon taken a seat on the bunk bed in the corner; the four of them were currently situated in one of the temporary bedrooms of the airship which, for some reason, Team Galactic had actually considered including in the design of the vehicle. It was pretty bare; all that was in the room was a bunk bed lined with blue sheets, a table with two chairs, and a poster above the table with the Galactic logo surrounded by a thick coat of black mist and Cyrus' semi-transparent face bang-smack in the middle.

"What are you talking about?" Aaron asked, trying not to eye the poster.

Luke had soon taken a seat at the table, and Bureka had found a nice comfortable spot on the wall to lean against, just beside the window, as Dewey began. "So you don't know the legend of the Annuler, huh?"

Aaron shook his head.

"Well, I'll tell you all I know, then." He soon took his place next to Bureka, perched on the windowsill. "From what I've heard, Annulers came into existence many thousands of years ago. It all started when Celebi, a legendary Pokemon with the power of time travel, went into the future to see what would become of humanity. As she travelled through time and observed humans, she noticed a heavy decline in population, and entire towns and cities were destroyed, burnt to the ground. The world was in a state of chaos and anarchy. It was all thanks to... Uhh..." He stopped short for a moment. "I can't remember if he was an emperor or a king or whatever, but his name was Jekyll, and he was elected into power because his father, who was elected before him, was killed – by Jekyll, of course.

"So Celebi rushed back to Arceus, who you all should know as the Pokemon God. Celebi told Arceus of what would happen, and so they tried to think of something they could do to counteract this. But then Arceus thought; "If we destroy this Jekyll person, then humans will depend on us too much. We must teach them to solve their own problems!" But even so, Arceus did not want to take a back seat on the matter, so he (assuming Arceus is a he, for all intents and purposes) continued to think."

At this point, Bureka was already dozing off, his snoring loud enough to throw Dewey off for a second or two.

"And so he came to a hasty conclusion. 'Humans have the power of intelligence, but they lack the special abilities that Pokemon have. As such, I shall turn one of these humans into a Pokemon, and grant them the Annulment so they may take on the issue themselves and avoid widespread conflict.'

"And so, a newborn was granted the Annulment long before Jekyll came into power. When the time came that Jekyll claimed the throne, the Annuler's power awakened; he transformed into a Pokemon and took him out with but a few swift moves! Of course, he had to sacrifice himself, but the world was safe, and the events thus altered the course of history.

"That Annuler accepted his fate without as much as a whinge. But when a threat emerged once again, Arceus was forced to cast the curse of the Annulment upon another newborn. When they grew up and learned of this power, they dismissed it, obviously not wanting to sacrifice themselves. As such, more Annulers were born, but none accepted their fate, and continued living. Soon, humans learned of the true destructive power Pokemon had; and war soon raged. The threats were wiped out, sure, but at the cost of many lives, both human and Pokemon.

"Over the years, Annulers have been born, but very few of them actually went through with it. Until only recently, of course..." Dewey took in an exalted breath, and sighed. "You're the first Annuler to go through with it for some time."

"You're forgetting someone," Aaron replied. "My mother was an Annuler, too, and she went through with it."

"Of course!" Dewey exclaimed. "Sarah! She's your mother?" When Aaron nodded, Dewey's eyes widened a little, and he grinned. "Guess it runs in the family, huh? I remember her. She was the one that annuled Giovanni."

Aaron wasn't actually aware of this, but decided to keep his mouth shut about it. It was reasonable that Giovanni would need to be taken out of the picture, of all people.

"But that's why you're such a special kid, Aaron," Dewey continued. "You're one of the few Annulers to accept it! If I'm correct, that would make you the ninth to do so, and considering how long Annulers have been in existence, that's something!"

_As much as I really didn't want to go through with it, everyone was looking forward to the moment Cyrus was erased from the picture... Besides, who was I to doom humanity?_

"Once Cyrus is gone," Bureka started, having lifted his head from a daze, "then we can all live in peace again."

"And it might teach a lesson to anyone who even tries to mess with the balance of things," Luke added, stepping off the bunk bed and out into the middle of the room, alongside Dewey. "We don't mean to put pressure on you, Azz, but this is a huge deal, y'know?"

The rodent in question, however, wasn't really listening. He was thinking of how Annulers were born more or less randomly, and how quickly the power was dished out to humans... "Hang on!" He suddenly snapped, leaping off the bunk. "You mean there are more Annulers?"

"Uh..." Dewey was caught off guard by the sudden question, but nonetheless he answered quickly. "Yeah. There are probably tons of Annulers out there. Heck, any one of us could probably be one, if you think about it!"

_Think about it?_ Aaron was crazy with thought. "There are so many things to think about, and you expect me to only pick one?" He gripped his head in indecision, and began pacing around the room in circles, bellowing all the while. "Who knows how many Annulers there could be, then! Any one of them could be in my position instead, but of course, I have to be thrust into the position of 'the world's savior!'" At this point he let go of his head and started flailing his arms in the air angrily. "Why the heck can't any of them do it? Selfish douchebags!"

Everyone stared at him with a queer eye as he shouted about the room. Finally, Luke stepped forward reluctantly. "That's kinda hypocritical, Azz."

"What?" He spun around, fuming.

"It's either selfish of them to not take up their role as an Annuler, or it's selfish of you to not to do it. Sorry, Azz, but it had to be said..." He began to back away slowly, afraid of what the irritated Pikachu might do, but to his surprise, he had calmed down a bit.

For a moment, silence. Then, Aaron spoke, the harshness in his voice having disappeared. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to outburst like that."

"You and your mood swings..."

The rodent Pokemon screwed up his face stressfully. "The pressure is really starting to get to me, y'know? If I screw up..." He gripped his head again. "It's a lot to handle..." Still holding his head in his hands, he made for the door, which slid open before him with a slight woosh. "I just need some time to think..." He disappeared behind the metal door, leaving all the others in an awkward position.

Luke sighed. "Oh my Arceus, he's done it again."

"Done what?" Bureka replied, still leaning against the wall.

"He's pretty mellow most of the time, but when something really gets to him..." He motioned towards the door that Aaron had exited through, and Bureka nodded in reply, not really knowing anything intelligent to reply with. "I'd better go talk to him..."

He exited the room with a heavy sigh, but before the door closed behind him, a dark blue figure appeared in the doorway, arms folded, silver claws shining in the fading sunlight outside the window. "I don't suppose you know where..."

But the Weavile that stood in the doorway was quickly interrupted by Dewey, who rushed over to him. "You must be Dante! Rhyder mentioned you just enlisted with us, so allow me to say welcome aboard!" He held out his paw as if to shake hands, but soon retracted it, considering the Weavile wasn't the kind of Pokemon he wanted to shake hands with.

"Thank you," Dante replied, not once moving from his position. "I'm sorry if I am interrupting anything, but I'm looking for the holding bay. I was told Uxie was being held there, and I have been sent to check on him."

Dewey scratched his head. "Sorry, but I don't know where anything on this thing is."

Dante nodded in reply, before walking off into the corridor, the door whizzing closed behind him.

-[oOo]-

Emi watched in awe-struck silence as the sun began to set in the horizon; the slowly fading light reflected off onto the water and nearly blinded her, but nevertheless she stared, viewing the beautiful scene. That, along with the cool wind that breezed through her fur, made her feel relaxed and sedated, her giddy smile ever present. She stood atop the airship; a section of it had been surrounded with railing, and an elevator had been installed to allow access. (**If you're having trouble really imagining it, go play Final Fantasy XIII and ride an airship**)

The stress-free Emolga suddenly jumped when she heard a loud 'Ping!' sound from the elevator, followed by the doors sliding open, but she smiled again when she saw the familiar face of a Pikachu staring right back at her.

Aaron couldn't help but to yelp in surprise when he felt Emi's atrophied arms attempting to squeeze around his torso, leaving him temporarily breathless. "Oh, Azzie! I've missed you so much today!"

"That's... great... ugh..." Aaron wheezed, trying to push the excited squirrel away.

She let go of her own accord, however, frowning. "How come it took you so long to come and see me again? I've been worried sick about you! You coulda died out there, y'know?"

Aaron sighed. "I don't think it matters, Emi. I'm gonna die, anyway." He trudged straight past her, heading for the railing on the edge.

But Emi just smiled giddily again. "I see! You're in one of your moods again! All you need is some cheering up, I think." She ran over to join Aaron, who was already slumped over the railing, staring blankly out into the day's end, eyes droopy with depression.

"Thanks, Emi, but I really don't-"

"Aww, c'mon now! No need to be such a gloomy Gus, is there? I know! How about I tell you a joke?"

Aaron didn't reply; he only stared out into the sunset, unmoving.

"Okay, okay... Uh... A guy is walking home from work, and he notices this new clock store had been-"

The elevator swooshed open behind them; Emi spun around, seeing a Treecko standing in the doorway, arms folded, shaking his head. "That joke is hugely inappropriate. How the heck do you know that one?"

"Pfft! How is it inappropriate?"

"Any joke that involves the human anatomy is hugely inappropriate!" The Treecko – Luke – shouted as he made his way to them. "Funny, but rude. Totally inappropriate for this fanfic."

"He's doing it again!" Aaron shouted, his head buried in his folded arms. "Make him stop! Make him stop!"

"Dude," Emi began, "you have a script, so maybe you should _read it._"

From seemingly out of nowhere did Luke pull out a set of papers, and he began to flick to them. "Let's see... Act 37, Scene 2... Wow, this thing is long. I mean, Shakespeare had, like, five acts... Ugh..." He ran his finger through and confirmed his lines, threw the script into the ocean, and proceeded for Aaron. "Okay. We ready?"

"Whenever you're ready, Johnny Depp," Aaron replied sarcastically.

Luke cleared his throat, before leaning over the rail right next to the unhappy Pikachu. (**That's a serious design flaw on Team Galactic's part; considering the airship was once occupied by humans, if the railing is short enough for a Pikachu to lean over it... That's a lawsuit waiting to happen!**) "You feeling okay, Azz?"

Aaron mumbled in reply, but it was largely inaudible.

"I think you're overreacting just a little bit, maybe. I mean, sure, you're going to sacrifice your life and all, and none of us really want that! But, you'll go down in legends for decades, even centuries to come!"

Aaron lifted his head just a little bit and gave him a stern look. "You wouldn't be saying that if you were the Annuler, Luke."

"Sure, I would. I'd just replace all the 'you's with 'I's."

"You know what I mean."

"Ehh..." Luke didn't know how to respond to that. Aaron was always hard to deal with when he got in one of his 'moods', let alone snap him out of it.

"But, nobody needs to worry," Aaron replied, once again gazing out towards the horizon with weary eyes. "I'm still going to do it, no matter what. I just needed to let off some steam, is all. I mean, everyone expects so much of me. Charmeleon, especially. He's always going around, boasting about me, like today when we arrived at the Crusaders' camp. '_He will be the single reason why you'll all be leaving here today with your backsides still attached to your backsides,_' he told everyone, and I blushed a little, but that's my point. The pressure's getting to me."

Luke screwed his face up a little in confusion and relief. "Somehow I thought that would be a lot harder," he whispered, before looking back towards Aaron again. "But, just remember, we're all here for ya, buddy."

Aaron looked towards Luke and smiled, but the smile quickly faded when he noticed Luke had stepped back, shooting his arm up into the air, donning a heroic pose. "If there is an obstacle in our way, we'll smash through it! If there is no path to lead us to our destination then we'll carve one ourselves! No matter what the odds of victory are, we shall achieve it in spite of all error! For without victory, there is no survival!"

The rather confused electric rodents stared at the heroically redundant lizard, who maintained his pose for several awkward seconds, before sighing and easing himself back down to a slumped position, as if he were tired.

"You totally ripped that off from somewhere," Aaron replied.

"Not even! I mixed it up a bit." Luke pouted and scrunched his face up in playful irritation.

Aaron couldn't help but to chuckle just a little bit, but the smile was replaced with chattering teeth, as the cold winds were starting to pick up. "Time to go inside, I think," he stated. "It's freezing out here." He and Luke turned around and started for the elevator.

Emi nodded in agreement when the wind became stronger, but before she could take so much as a step, a sudden strong gust caught under her cape, and against her will, she was lifted clean off the floor and into the air. She began to flail and shout, not being able to do much else. "Help! Somebody get me down!"

Both Aaron and Luke spun around and widened their eyes in shock, as their Emolga friend was being carried into the air. Both of them made a dash for her, arms in the air, ready to grab her.

What surprised Aaron and Emi, however, was the green blur that raced along the floor, jumped into the air, and latched onto Emi's tiny foot, pulling her back down to the ground. The blur soon revealed itself as a panting, sweating Luke, struggling to keep Emi firmly on the ground, as he began to lead her to the elevator.

Aaron soon followed, though with effort, having to walk against the strong winds, the whole time in a state of amazement and awe. "Where the heck did you learn to run that fast?"

Luke didn't answer, instead focused on saving Emi for the time being; nevertheless, he had no idea himself.

-[oOo]-

The large metal door slowly slid open, much to the blue surprise, as he leaped off the crate he was sitting on. He sighed, however, when he saw the familiar face of a Weavile staring back at him, and returned to his position balanced on the edge of the crate. "Ah, Dante. It is only you..."

The Weavile grinned, adjusting the woven pouch that hung over his shoulder.. "Yes, only me..." He strode forward with light steps that barely made a ting against the metal floor. "I've spent some time searching for where the Crusaders relocated you. Even in such a small area, you're quite difficult to find."

"I've spent the majority of my life," Uxie began solemnly, "hiding within the lake. Hiding is my forte, as you... humans... say."

"Why don't you teleport back there, then?"

"And that is why I am the being of knowledge," Uxie replied. "If I were to flee back there again, then I would only be at risk of being captured again. You Crusaders have offered to protect me until this ordeal is over."

Dante smirked at this point, reaching a claw into the sack and rummaging through it, while the two talked. "You must trust them, then, Uxie, if you are willing to put your life in their hands."

"Of course... Why would you think otherwise?" Uxie asked calmly, but the look of content and drowsiness that it usually displayed was soon turned to one of gaping horror, as Dante was holding a black Poke Ball right in front of his face.

Dante grinned. "Because I don't think they're doing a very good job."

-[oOo]-

Of course, Nick just so happened to be in the immediate vicinity, treading along slowly as he glanced at all the doors that he walked past, and groaning. "God! Why are there so many rooms on this thing? Where the heck is room 382? Why couldn't Aaron and Luke get put in a closer room to the mess hall?" He suddenly gripped his stomach in pain, still full from whatever he had pigged out on.

He noticed a dark blue-and-red figure entering a room through a huge metal door, which took his mind off his bloated stomach for just a few seconds, before the aching returned again, and he had decided to rest for a minute. He had chosen to slump down against the wall next to the gargantuan door, careful not to get his tail caught under his behind.

The aching soon took a backseat in his mind when he heard the figure from before – a Weavile, was it? – was heard talking with someone. He gasped when he heard the name Uxie brought up, and the other voice responded to it. Curious, he jumped up onto his feet and tiptoed into the doorway, only a creak open, and peered in.

He saw the fairy Pokemon in question sitting on a crate, and the Weavile was approaching him, holding a spherical device, which it was holding to the back of Uxie's head. At first, Nick was a little confused.

"Of course... Why would you think otherwise?"

He saw Uxie spin around to face the Weavile, whose face turned to one with a look of horror and distraught. The Weavile replied, "Because I don't think they're doing a very good job."

A bright red light soon filled the room, and Nick was left blinded for a second, holding his claws over his eyes. When he opened them and removed his hands, he saw the face of the Weavile staring right back at him.

He mentally crapped himself. "Um... He-hello!" He stuttered. "I, uh... I'm, uh..." His stomach began aching then, and he remembered where he was coming from. "I was l-looking for the m-m-mess hall..."

But the Weavile just smirked. "No dice." He thrust the back of his claw straight into Nick's stomach, forcing him against the wall, before the perpetrator had opened his mouth, releasing ice-cold air all over the Totodile's body, plastering it to the wall. Nick struggled, but he was not powerful enough to free himself.

"Now tell me what you know!" Dante cried.

"Uh..." Nick was shivering; not only from the ice, but from utter fear. "I-I-I know lots of things! I c-could teach you how to d-do scatterplots a-a-and standard deviation if you'd-"

But Dante cut him short, slamming his claw into the wall right next to his face; Nick frowned when he saw the large hole he had left. "I don't need to learn algebra!"

"To be fair, it's not algebra..."

"You saw me in there. You know too much, and I'm afraid I might need a hostage to ensure my safety out of here." He grinned, pulling out another sphere-like device – a black Poke Ball – and held it to Nick's head, which caused him to sweat with panic.

"L-l-l-let's not be too hasty here! I have a lot to offer, you know!"

"Not unless you're in this thing, you don't," Dante replied cheekily, pressing the ball firmly against his head. "I do hope you're not claustropedic."

"Claustrophobic," Nick corrected, surprisingly casually.

"Oh, just shut up and get in the ball!"

Before Nick could leave so much as a rude remark, he felt the Poke Ball pressed firmly between his eyes, as he heard a click, and then his whole body went numb, even more so than before, to the point where he couldn't move at all. Flashes of red enveloped his eyes as he was sucked into the device, but just before he was sucked into it, he caught of one last thing, and mentally gasped.

The black ball had a stylised yellow G on its front.

-[oOo]-

Back in room 382 had Aaron, Luke and Emi found themselves, still shocked from what they had witnessed atop the airship. Well, Aaron and Emi seemed so, as they sat talking with each other on the bunk bed.

Luke, however, had managed to locate a nearby kitchen and had found himself a plate of, believe it or not, meat loaf. As he was scooping it up into his mouth and savouring the apparent abundance of flavour, the other two had approached him nervously.

"So, Luke..." Aaron began, rubbing his neck as he did. "You wanna, maybe, talk about what happened up there?"

But Luke just stared at him, chewing all the while.

"So you're just gonna drop it, then?"

Luke swallowed and wiped his mouth. "What are we talking about?"

Emi sighed, before holding her hand out flat, dashing it past his face, and making a whooshing sound with her puckered-up lips.

"Oh, that!" Luke cried suddenly. "Erm... Okay, yeah, I'm a little worried, but that's all. What else do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, Luke," Aaron replied gently. "I'm worried, too. I remember Dewey said that... Any one on earth could very well be an Annuler, and..."

"Wait!" Luke snapped, jumping up from the table. "How does me running at super speed make me an Annuler?"

"I wasn't implying that," Aaron hushed. "But, I am, and I can go all Giga Volt Tackle on baddies. I'm thinking that all Annulers might have some kind of unique ability, or something."

Luke didn't know what to say at that point, until he shrugged it off. "I don't know what it is. Maybe it's this scarf!" Feeling a sudden itch from it, though, he decided to pull it off. "There! Now this is all over and done with."

"I somehow doubt that."

"Eh, I'm not in the mood for arguing or anything right now." Luke returned to his seat at the table, scooping up another mouthful of tasteless delight.

The door suddenly swooshed open, though, revealing a Dewott, who was panting and grasping his knees. "Guys! This isn't good!"

Luke almost choked from the sudden surprise. "Wot ish it?" He muffled out of his filled mouth. "Can't yoo shee I'm trying to eat?"

Between elongated breaths, Dewey managed to blurt out; "Uxie's gone! ...And Nick, too!"

-[oOo]-

"And I haven't heard back from Dante, either," Rhyder explained to everyone, though he was trying to focus on the security camera footage.

Aaron, Emi, Luke, Dewey, Bureka and Freya all stood behind him impatiently, as Rhyder, as well as Charmeleon, were searching through all the recent footage of the cameras.

Freya was the one to break the silence. "Exactly what did you find out about Dante in the background check?" She asked calmly.

"Well," Rhyder began, albeit reluctantly; "he was an ex-con, and-"

"You hired an ex-con." It was implied that Freya lowered her eyebrows.

"But he eventually turned good!" Rhyder snapped back, almost as if he sounded like he was arguing with his mother. "He's a freelancer, just like us! That's why he joined the Crusaders to begin with." He turned back to the monitors. "Besides, he was a diversity double-whammy! He was Jewish, and he was African-American! That'll shut the boards up when they complain about there being too many whites."

"There are no whites, anymore!" Charmeleon suddenly cried. "We're all Pokemon!"

"God! Racist, much?" Rhyder grunted.

"Everybody, shut up," Luke ordered, "and look outside!"

With a big stubby finger he pointed out the windshield/window/whatever, and everyone gasped when they saw a Salamence hastily darting through the sky; mounted on its back was a human with grey hair and a leg-length, black jacket, as well as a second, dark-blue and red figure.

Freya sighed. "Sometimes, Rhyder, I forget why you're even in charge."

-[oOo]-

**Vale: I'm going to keep on capitalizing Pokemon names, for now, because I've done it all throughout my fic so far. When I finish, say, part 1, then I might go back and change it.**

**So, reviews, then.**

Tanon, **seriously, stop your complaining. In the time that I release one chapter, you release three or four. So shut up.**

**And also, Roundabout is my new favourite song. Everybody should listen to it. "But wait!" You say. "It's a song from the 70's!" Well suck it, I say, and stop listening to Lady GaGa and Nicky Minaj, because the 70's is where it's at.**

**Yes, Dewey will be coming along with them, **Sobi. **And I'm glad I'm not using the term 'cockpit' because, like I said, it cracks me up every time.**

**Also, thanks to **Red Wing Zero **who left a nice review. Nice to see some more Aussies on here. Also, you have the cutest avatar picture EVER.**

**Okay, now that I have graduated from school, I finally have (all the) time (in the world) so I can probably start doing weekly updates again. Right after I play some more Marvel vs Capcom 3. (This is my taunt!)**


	38. Milk Lizard

**THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.**

**Vale: Hey everybody, I'm back, sorry for being so late with my new chapter, yada yada, God Save the Queen, I'm gonna rob the Prez-o-dent. That's all the boring stuff out of the way.**

**Now, I'm assuming you all know about that little review button that FanFiction has put under every chapter. No doubt everyone has, I'm sure. But I'm also aware that very few of you actually use it. I just wanted to say a little something on the matter.**

**Aaron: But, Vale! You're just doing this to get more reviews, aren't you?**

**Vale: Ah, very well put, my little rabbit friend. *Aaron sighs* Now, yes, I do want more reviews. But what author would not want feedback on their work, hm? Every writer appreciates some sort of feedback from their readers and fans, and of course, such feedback helps the writer to improve upon the works of which the reviewers read.**

**However, the main reason why readers don't review is that they feel their reviews will be insignificant because they're not as intelligent as the writer, or that the writer is an intimidating monster who eats up comments people leave and spit them back at their face. Yes, some writers are actually like that, but many are very nice people! And many of them will accept any little comment you leave, from the flames to the sophisticated in-depth reviews to the "YOU ROCK! CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!11eleven". **

**This will be my (last) little whinge about reviews – I know you're all sick of me telling you to review now. You see it in every second chapter. But I feel this needed to get out there. A lot of people write magnificent stories, and they sit on there for some time only to receive just a few reviews, which really discourages the author. This little "speech" itself is probably insignificant enough to make people start reviewing and solve the problem once and for all, but... Look. Just click that review button and leave your thoughts. Unless you're real nasty, you won't get bellowed at for it, so take the plunge and just do it!**

**Aaron: Authorised by the Australian Government, Canberra. Spoken by V. XD. ...Wait...**

**Vale: Okay, well, now that all that's out of the way! How about we get this show on the road, huh? Or, air, in this case.**

**-[Chapter 38]- **

Aaron shifted nervously into the room, alongside Luke, Emi and Dewey, all tailing behind Rhyder. At first he saw nothing; the Crusaders' leader's husky build was much too big to be able to see around, but once he stepped to the side, he jumped back in surprise, as his beady eyes gawked upon two of the mechas they had pilfered from their enemy.

"The others we pinched are somewhat damaged," Rhyder began to explain, striding proudly towards the first mecha. It was at least ten feet tall, its primary red coating reflecting off the many lights of the room, two prongs of the trident grafted to its head broken off. Soon, Rhyder was spray-painting on the humanoid machine's torso, covering the Galactic logo in red, before picking up a blue can and further spurting paint onto it. "These two are the only ones we can spare at the moment, but that's all we should need, of course."

"I do hope _we're_ not piloting these," Luke replied, arms folded. Amidst the worry of the worst, he noticed Rhyder moving onto the second mecha, so he caught a glimpse of the paint job he had left on the first, confused when he saw the words "Rock Wrecker" sprawled across it in near ineligible writing.

What further surprised him was the sudden arrival of Charmeleon and Garth, the Gallade, who shoved through. Luke was careful not to have Charmeleon's tail end up in his face.

Charmeleon stood next to the Rock Wrecker, a giddy smirk lining his face. "Of course you're not. Garth and I will have the honour of taking them for a spin."

"This is not something I would take lightly!" Garth suddenly snapped, before turning to Rhyder and watching him give his mecha a little touch up. He soon frowned, and pointed towards it. "What are you doing? No, no, no, this won't do! It's entirely inconsistent with the rest of the palette!"

"What?" Rhyder replied awkwardly.

"The thing is red, but here you are putting a pink splotch of nothing right in the middle! And what does "_Thunder Fang_" have to do with anything?"

Rhyder sighed, putting the cans of spray paint down on the ground. "Thunder Fang is this beast's name. Also, I don't think consistency is an important problem right now! We got a fairy Pokemon to rescue, you know!"

"But why pink?"

"Well, I thought you people..."

"Oh, that is so typical! Referring to us as _you people! _And we don't all like pink, you know!" Garth pouted in frustration. "My favourite colour is purple."

"Oh, same sh... Ngh! Just get in the stupid thing! Before I have you extradited!"

"Don't start this again!" Garth snapped as he began to climb into the 'Thunder Fang'. "I know Leaf Blade! I could take you down quicker than Queer Eye make over straight guys!"

_Which isn't very quick, obviously,_ Aaron thought. _But did we seriously just mention that show? I mean, I have nothing against, well, those people who have that particular lifestyle choice, but that show is as unnecessary as... It's so unnecessary, I'm not even going to think of a simile for it. There!_

-[oOo]-

Having called off their dispute for the time being, Rhyder let them be, and so Garth and Charmeleon were free to climb into the mechas and take off. When everyone had cleared the room, a hatch opened in the roof illuminating it, and allowed for the two to escape quickly. Within seconds, the two were hovering above the Crusaders' airship; Charmeleon seemed to be doing fine, gliding the Rock Wrecker through the air with relative ease. Garth, on the other hand, was struggling a bit. Against his will, the Thunder Fang was doing somersaults and barrel rolls all over the place, narrowly missing Charmeleon's mecha.

When Garth managed to stabilize himself and hover upright, he saw Charmeleon's face show up on a monitor in the cabin, and it was grinning childishly. "Hey, Garth!"

"What?" The Gallade moaned.

"Do a barrel roll!"

"Go away."

-[oOo]-

"And just what do you expect us to do while they go out and have all the fun?" Emi cried out of sheer boredom, as she, along with the others, exited the room behind her without so much as a sigh.

Rhyder just grinned, setting aside the cans of spray paint before he left the room. "We're almost hovering above Canalave City as we speak," he replied. "Did you think you'd be under our care for the rest of your life, eh?"

The mention of Canalave City made Aaron suddenly snap to realisation. _Canalave? But that means we're not far from home!_

"Canalave?" Luke asked. "But that means we're not far from home!"

_He must suffer from Pokemon Mystery Dungeonitis, _Aaron thought, _if he loves to repeat everything I think unnecessarily._

"So you live nearby?" Rhyder asked, and Aaron and Luke nodded. "Maybe you should all take a load off and settle down for the night. You're going to need to rest before you head off for Lake Verity tomorrow."

-[oOo]-

_Such speed! _Garth thought to himself. _Such power! These robot thingies are amazing! I guess I gotta hand it to those Galactics for buildin' 'em! Now if only I could learn how to fly it properly._

He was right; the mechas were righteous fun to pilot, but it seemed he needed more practice with piloting one. At that moment, he was facing the airship as he was flying towards the escaping Galactics on their Salamence, and was trying desperately to face the other direction.

"Garth!" It was Charmeleon's head on the transceiver again. "Turn the damn thing around! Never have your back towards the enemy!"

With the stupidest look on his face, Garth replied; "Yeah, well my face is too good for them, anyway..."

"This is no laughing matter!" Charmeleon repeated, as Garth noticed droplets of spit flying off of his mouth onto the monitor. "We're closing in fast, so hurry up and get that thing turned..." He paused.

"...Around? What, do I have to finish your sentences, now?"

But Charmeleon didn't answer; instead, he gasped before the transceiver cut out, leaving only the annoying fizzle of static behind.

BLAM!

Suddenly, Garth was sent propelling in the direction he came from, straight back to the airship, a trail of smoke following him.

Surprised, Charmeleon spun around; would he not have been restrained by the cramped interior of the Rock Wrecker, he would have jumped at the sight of an imposing Salamence staring him down menacingly, a wicked toothed grin spread across its face. Perched atop it behind its thin red wings was a Weavile, as well as a middle-aged female with grey hair and a black body-length jacket.

The woman spoke. "How nice to see you again, Charmeleon," she remarked. "I knew you would return to the Pokemon Hunters eventually."

"Don't get me wrong, J," Charmeleon replied, his voice amplified through the mecha's head. "Being a Pokemon Hunter was exciting and pleasurable. It makes me quite upset, then, that I have to take you down!"

Without a word, J pointed a lanky finger at her enemy, and the Salamence's head coiled a little, its mouth filled with searing flames. Soon it spat them out, and a long stream of fire careened straight for Charmeleon. Luckily he was quick enough to yank his mecha to the side, narrowly avoiding damage.

In swift retaliation, Charmeleon let loose a missile from his massive armoury. J ordered another Flamethrower, and the two soon collided, exploding into a shower of burning metal. Out of the orange and silver cloud emerged the Rock Wrecker, speeding towards the dragon with no second thought. It launched a giant iron fist straight at its enemy, who quickly dodged to the left. Charmeleon continued to slug punch after punch, and the Salamence continued to dart around them.

SWISH!

"Stay still!"

SWISH!

"Damnit, let me hit you!"

SWISH!

"C'mon, just once!"

Feeling like he was getting nowhere, Charmeleon backed off and gave the both of them some breathing room, while he tried to think of a way to take them out.

Not paying attention to anything around him, he jittered in shock when he heard something collide with the mecha, a loud clang echoing in his head. At first, nothing happened, but when he heard the sparking of electricity mixed with the scraping against metal, he began to agonize.

A familiar voice screeched from outside. "A twelve-foot tall robot being taken apart by a three-foot tall Weavile! How ironic!" Dante had leaped onto the mecha and had begun tearing away at it.

"It's not quite ironic as it is hugely annoying," Charmeleon replied, his voice booming through the mecha's head again. "But this isn't quite over yet!"

With the press of a button, the torso of the mecha opened up, revealing the lizard to the rest of the world. He leaped out of his seat and into the air, all the while shouting; "If I'm going down, then I'm taking you with me!"

J lifted her left arm, revealing the device on her wrist. "It'll be interesting to see you try."

Not paying any attention, Charmeleon seemed to hover in the air, as he began to build up a Flamethrower in his maw. The second he unleashed it, it expanded into a huge ball of fire easily twice the size of its caster, and it started on its course straight for the Salamence and its rider.

"Stupid lizard," J cried. "If I die, then what happens to Uxie? And the Totodile?"

_Wait, what?_

At that instant, the device on J's wrist lit up and fired a red beam from its centre, gunning straight for the airborne Charmeleon, breaking through the huge ball of flames, causing it to explode into a million tiny, evaporating embers. Charmeleon could only watch in horror as the red beam shot straight for him.

-[oOo]-

Meanwhile, back on the airship, Aaron and Luke were watching the election on the wall mounted TV in their temporary room, Room 382. The election was to decide who the next President of Sinnoh was. That's right, the regions have Presidents. Except for Hoenn, because they have a Prime Minister. _Damn Pommies..._ The election was between two decidedly evenly-matched candidates; Boris Ohana, a Houndoom, and Jack McDain, a Golurk, and the election was being held outside the Contest Hall in Hearthome City, due to the lack of a Presidential building anywhere in Sinnoh.

A Ledian flittered up to the podium, slammed its hands down on to it, and let its voice boom through the vicinity through use of the mounted microphone atop it. "We have tallied the votes, and it goes without saying that there was a very narrow gap between the total votes for each candidate!" It shouted with the voice of a middle-aged male. "But there can only be one President of Sinnoh, apparently! Our new President is..." The Ledian held out two of its hands towards the Houndoom to its right. "Boris Ohana!"

The crowd roared in applause; Aaron and Luke, however, could only watch, dumbfounded, from their seats at the kiddy table back on the airship.

"So that Ohana guy's our new President, huh?" Luke asked necessarily, as the new President of Sinnoh began his speech – though neither of them seemed to care.

"Apparently," Aaron replied, "but I thought that McDain guy was a shoe-in! Look at him! He's so opposing and kinda scary-looking. Why would you not vote for that guy? He'd sort anything out."

Back on the TV screen, the 'opposing' McDain stepped toward the podium, pushing Ohana out of the way in the process effortlessly. He began to talk into the microphone, booming robotic voice heard by all, though he looked directly at the Houndoom leader. "MCDAIN IS UPSET. MCDAIN WILL DESTROY YOU, PUNY PUPPY."

The Ledian began to tug at the Golurk's arm. "Come on, Mr McDain! Why don't we go back to your house and play with your blocks?"

"MCDAIN DOES NOT PLAY WITH BLOCKS. MCDAIN SHALL DESTROY THE UNIVERSE."

Back on the airship, Aaron could only sigh, feeling a little upset. "He would have made a truly great leader..."

"And you know what else?" Luke suddenly blurted out. "That means we have a black President!"

"Oh, wow, Luke. Really?"

Turning back to the TV, images of the tantrum-throwing presidential candidate were suddenly cut out by a moment of static, followed by Rhyder's face popping up on the screen. "This is your captain speaking! We're approaching Canalave City and should be there in about half an hour or so. In the meantime, I want everyone to try and come up with a name for the airship! After all, we don't wanna call it 'the airship' for the rest of its life, do we? Whoever thinks of a name gets... uh..." He disappeared for a second before reappearing holding a jar. "This jar of cookies. And I think there's a Tim Tam in there, too. Now get to it!"

The screen faded out to static again before reappearing on the channel Aaron and Luke had been watching, but the commercial break had started, so they both got up and headed for Emi, Bureka and Dewey, who had been hanging out over near the bunk beds, chatting.

"Hey, guys!" Aaron announced. "Rhyder says whoever thinks of a name for the airship gets a jar of cookies and a Tim Tam."

Bureka shouted with glee, which made everyone a little scared. "I've waited so long for something like this to happen! I know what we can call it!"

"What?" Dewey replied.

Bureka waved his claw out in front of him slowly as he proclaimed his idea. "Super Ultra Combining Gurren L-"

Dewey thrust a clenched fist into the back of Bureka's head, forcing him to the ground. "You're not even going to _finish_ that."

"I got one," Aaron chimed in. "How about the SAA Nemesis?"

"The what?" Emi asked curiously. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, Nemesis is a song," Aaron began to explain, scratching the fur on his torso, "one of my favourite death metal songs. And SAA stands for "Super Awesome Aircraft." I mean, most ships have that kinda thing in front, right?"

"Yes," Dewey replied, "but they usually have something like 'SS' or something. Something that _makes sense._"

"And while we're at it, because everything has to be named after songs from Guitar Hero," Luke interrupted, "we may as well call this thing the SAA Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants."

"No, that's just stupid, Luke," Aaron retorted.

-[oOo]-

Dante leaped off the mecha and onto the Salamence's back, returning to his position latching onto J's hips for support. Before them, the mecha spewed showers of sparks from its torso and shoulders, before it suddenly started to fall straight for the ocean. Satisfied, the two of them turned around and began on their way back north.

"So what happens to the Charmeleon now?" Dante asked, albeit loudly, the wind rushing by them drowning out most other noises.

"I doubt anyone is going to find him anytime soon," J replied, unmoving. "He's just going to remain trapped down there forever, that's all."

"That's pretty... Erm..." The Weavile scratched his head, though not too harshly, so as not to rip through his own flesh. "Wouldn't it just have been easier to kill him? Isn't there a chance he'll escape?"

"There's no way to return from stasis unless we put him on one of those platforms and undid it ourselves," J assured. "And if he, for some reason, does escape, he'll just die anyway. Charmeleon and water are not the best of friends."

"That's pretty dark."

Below them, the Rock Wrecker plummeted into the sea, before it slowly sank to the bottom, taking its place softly but noticeably beside a statue of a Charmeleon, a look of surprise and despair etched onto its face.

-[oOo]-

Everyone had soon gathered in the bridge, where they had shared their ideas for the name of the Crusaders' airship with Rhyder.

"Then it's settled!" Rhyder exclaimed suddenly. "I officially dub this vessel the SAA Milk Lizard!"

"THE WHAT?" Bureka shouted in anger.

"It's different, it makes no sense, and it sounds very... imposing!" Rhyder announced, standing tall. "The SAA Milk Lizard! Yep! What a name!"

"Pretty decent song, too," Aaron yaffled. "But how did Emi come up with it?"

"Luke mentioned Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants," Bureka answered, "and one thing led to another..."

The Rhyperior nodded in confidence. "Emi, for thinking of such a kick-ass name, step forward and claim your prize!"

The thrilled Emolga bounded towards the Crusader leader, face beaming with delight, but the childish, giddy smile soon turned to a frown when Rhyder handed her an empty jar. "Hey! Where's my cookies?"

"Oh, um..." Rhyder burped, and clasped his claws to his mouth. "Well... There is one left..." He handed her a rectangular chocolate biscuit.

"What's this?"

"A Tim Tam."

"Ooh, I don't know what that is!" She stuffed it in her mouth and waddled back to the group, somewhat satisfied.

The commotion was soon settled when the door behind them hummed. When they turned around, they were somewhat surprised to see Garth charging in, panting all the while.

"Garth!" Dewey cried. "So, how'd you guys do?"

"I've been trying to pilot that stupid mecha back into the holding bay for _half a goddamn hour_!" Garth roared. "Are none of you paying any attention to what's going on outside?"

At first, everyone was a little confused as to what the Gallade was talking about. But then it suddenly came back to them.

"We've been gone for half an hour and you didn't notice?"

Everyone seemed to slowly shy away, but Rhyder was game to answer him. "Eheh... Sorry, everyone was kinda busy. The election was on, and we were naming the airship, and..."

"No, it's the Milk Lizard now!" Emi cried, still savouring her chocolate biscuit treat.

"Oh, that's just great, isn't it? We're out there on the front lines, and you're in here on your asses watching TV and coming up with ridiculous names for this hunk of junk!" Garth proceeded to punch a nearby wall, leaving a large dent.

"I thought it was a nice name..." Emi sobbed.

But Garth just growled at everyone. "And what about Charmeleon? Where the heck is he?"

Rhyder turned to Freya, who was staring intently into a monitor in a nearby control panel. "Freya! Attempt to locate the Rock Wrecker immediately!"

Freya turned away from the monitor and shut her eyes, concentrating. For a few seconds, she just sat there, not moving an inch, but as the silence grew more awkward, she seemed to concentrate even harder, until her whole body was shaking vigorously, giving off a faded purple aura. At last, she let out a long, belated breath, her eyes bursting open.

"So?"

"I can't find it anywhere!"

It was Rhyder's turn to growl angrily. "Well, then find Charmeleon!"

The Espeon shut her eyes again, but opened them almost a split second after. "Oh, he's at the bottom of... the... ocean?"

"What?" Rhyder cried suddenly. Upon hearing this, he was unsure whether the greater loss to him was losing one of the mechas they had stolen that day, or losing Charmeleon. "He was one of the best Crusaders out there, and now, he's finally found himself six feet under, the poor guy!" Rhyder dropped to his knees and began to weep.

"Actually, its a few hundred feet deep, sir," Freya replied, shedding a tear or two herself.

"This isn't the time for your technical mumbo jumbo!" Rhyder cried. "I can't believe he's finally gone..."

-[oOo]-

_It was a real shock to hear that the Crusaders had lost Charmeleon. From what I had heard, he was one of the highest ranking Crusaders in the division. Seeing everyone so sad kinda made me sad, too. I didn't really know Charmeleon all that well – I mean, we only met a few times, so it was kinda hard to get upset over the guy. But he did have a lot of faith in me, after all. He always used to believe that I was going to be the one to end Team Galactic's reign of terror once and for all. _

_Poor Boomer, though. I heard Charmeleon and Boomer were good friends, and when Boomer heard the news, he dug a tunnel through the floor in his room and hid in it for about twenty minutes. It was a metal floor._

_Nevertheless, we had to move on. Things to do, people to annul. So, the airship – I mean, the SAA Milk Lizard – finally landed in Canalave, where our brief journey with the Crusaders ended._

-[oOo]-

Aaron, Luke, Dewey and Emi headed for the holding bay upon instruction by a tearful Rhyder, who accompanied them there. Bureka and Freya followed, as they had been asked to keep the Rhyperior company during the ordeal. _"I need someone to lean on," he said. "Well, lean on someone your own size," They replied. _

The large door at the end of the holding bay opened and fell towards the ground, where it extended and planted itself into the earth below. "So, I guess this is where you'll be getting off, then?" Rhyder replied, sniffling.

"Listen," Bureka started, stepping towards Aaron. "I'm still not sure that you're capable of doing what you've promised. But! Charmeleon had high hopes for you. He seemed to believe that you really could do it. So, I want you do something for me, and for him."

"And what's that?" Aaron replied softly, though he felt he knew the answer.

Bureka smiled, hiding his eyes under the drill tip on his head. "Prove me wrong, buddy."

"Will do," Aaron promised, holding out a hand to shake on it, though he soon retracted it, not thinking it was a good idea.

"And look after Dewey for us, huh?" Rhyder stepped in, having dried up a little. "We don't wanna go losing another Crusader, and if we do, it's on your shoulders, mouse."

"Once again, he's not running a babysitting service," Dewey replied somewhat angrily.

-[oOo]-

Trapped in his immobile state, Charmeleon was not only worried that he was going to be stuck at the bottom of the ocean for the rest of his life, but also that he was incredibly bored. Even if he had only been down there for about an hour or so, the simplistic scenery of seabeds and coral already memorised in his head.

The only change of scenery he had was a Vaporeon swimming past him. After it disappeared, he became bored again.

But once more, the Vaporeon returned.

At first, it looked confused. Then, getting over the fact that there was a Charmeleon statue underwater lying next to a giant destroyed robot of some kind, it decided to swim in for a closer look, intimately examining the statue all over. Once it was done, it swam back again and examined it as a whole. Charmeleon felt somewhat violated at first, but dropped the thought when he saw the Vaporeon had a surprised look on its muzzle, before swimming off again.

Once again, the poor lizard Pokemon was bored.

The Vaporeon, however, seemed excited. It swam as fast as it could, darting through masses of coral and narrowly avoiding other water-type Pokemon and fish. It continued along for several minutes until it saw a stretch of land, at which point it leaped out of the shallow water and onto the land, a beach surrounded by pine trees and rock formations. The Vaporeon's eyes darted about the place until they located a Golduck standing on the sand, a sorrowful look on its face.

"You must come quickly!" The Vaporeon shouted, a young girl's voice escaping from its mouth.

"What is it, Naoko?" The Golduck replied, its voice resembling a young man, though a little rough.

"I... I found... Hah..." The Vaporeon – Naoko – settled down for a second, allowing herself to catch her breath. "I found a Charmeleon, under the waves! It's the perfect sacrifice!"

"A Charmeleon? In the ocean?" The Golduck laughed long and hard. "But that is impossible. No Charmeleon could survive under the water's surface."

"But it has!" Naoko shouted in reply. "It looks like a statue to the normal eye, but it's as if I can sense... that the Charmeleon within is still alive..."

"What trickery is this?" The Golduck snapped.

"N-no trickery, I assure you!" The Vaporeon replied, frightened. "Please, come with me and see!"

The Golduck stood thinking for a minute, before smiling unnervingly. "If what you say is true, then it will be the ultimate sacrifice to please our Lord Jekyll..." He stepped slowly towards Naoko, who was smiling, having persuaded him to follow her.

-[oOo]-

**Vale: I'm not even going to say anything about being away for so long. Let's just get to the reviews. ...EVEN THOUGH THERE'S ONLY TWO.**

Mewtastic! **'Bout time you reviewed. You haven't in, like four years. Also, you're not very good at being subtle.**

**Thanks to **Tanon** who pointed out lots of little blunders in Chapter 37.**

**The rail thing doesn't have to make sense. This more humour than sense, remember.**

**And also, I'll use exclamation marks wherever I want. Mary Shelley did it, and so will I! So there.**

**Well, not much else I can say, really. Just take into account that little thing I did up top there, y'know, with the reviews. And with that, I'll be seeing ya! Hopefully sooner than usual.**


	39. What The Hell Is Going On?

**Vale: And for the first time ever, I had writer's block. The fact is, I knew how I wanted the story to go, but the ending (to part 1) didn't really work in helping to continue it, if you know what I mean... No, I don't know, either. But the point is, I'm back, and now because some stupid emo (expletive) stole my spot in a TAFE course, I have lots of free time again... again! So, here's to hoping that I'm back on track.**

**Oh, plus DYLB3RT1993 deleted my original draft of Chapter 39, as well as all other Divine Intervention stuff on my computer. Bastard.**

**-[CHAPTER 39]- **

Charmeleon had somewhat forgot that he was entirely immobile for a little while. Once the Vaporeon had found him, she had swam off again, and returned with a Golduck in tow. The Golduck grabbed onto his almost statue-esque form and began to tow him along through the seafloor, dragging him through many different kinds of underwater fauna, causing him to jerk up off the floor and float for a few seconds. Meanwhile, the Vaporeon – whom he heard was named Naoko – and the Golduck – Kai, her brother – were bickering the whole time.

"How do you know that this is no ordinary statue?" Kai asked, clearly struggling with pulling the 'statue'.

The Vaporeon, Naoko, seemed to be fairly agitated. "I have to explain to you many times, brother! I know that statue contains a real fire-breather! I can hear it! It says things to me!"

Charmeleon was intrigued by their conversation, their way of speaking almost primitive to him. He was a little angry about being called an 'it', though.

"So what did this statue just say to you, then?" Kai asked in an unbelieving tone.

After only a few moments, Naoko answered, though somewhat confused. "It said that it does not like being called an... 'it'."

_Much obliged. Wait! _Charmeleon's mind snapped, almost like when Aaron could have snapped him like a twig back in Hearthome. Yeah, that's right, Charmeleon. We all remember.

"And now?" Kai asked, still very sceptical. "What did it say now, if anything?"

As if ignoring her brother, Naoko swam closer to Charmeleon's still body, examining the horrified expression on his face. "It seems to be remembering something... There is an electric creature standing atop him, pounding his face with its fists..."

"Yes, the fire breathers have always been such a cowardly tribe," Kai replied. "But no matter. I still find what you say to be simply unbelievable."

By this time, the three of them had arrived at shore, and Kai had continued to pull the statue before dropping it in the sand, exhausted.

Naoko, however, was still as defensive as ever. "You do not understand! Not only can I hear the fire breather's voice, but I can hear yours, too, even when you are not speaking!"

"That is enough, Naoko!" Kai suddenly snapped, causing his sister to jump back and cower behind Charmeleon. "I do not want to hear any more talk about these voices you hear! It is simply your mind playing tricks!"

"But, big brother..."

"You do not deserve to call me that, Naoko. This nonsense you speak... It is an embarrassment to our family," Kai scowled, turning his back to her. "When you are ready to explain yourself, then I shall speak to you again." Without another word, he stomped off into the forest, disappearing past the thick trunks of pine trees.

_Wow. What a jerk._

"I'm sorry?" Naoko whispered to the statue, knowing it was him.

_You're talking to me, right?_

"Yes. I can hear you, though your mouth does not move."

There was a pause before Charmeleon replied in a calm voice. _Somehow I feel I should be surprised, but with everything that's happened lately... _He cleared his throat, though only mentally. _How exactly can you read my mind, anyway?_

"Read your mind? I'm sorry, I do not understand..." The Vaporeon raised an eyebrow, looking upon the statue queerly.

_Wow. You guys must have any contact with any civilization at all._

"All these words are unknown to me," Naoko replied.

_Ugh. Look, how is it that you can talk to me like this?_

"Is this what you call reading your mind?" Naoko quizzed, receiving a positive answer from the odd statue. "Well, we all used to be humans, living out our lives on this little island of ours. But one day, we all woke up, and we had obtained the bodies of the very Gods themselves!"

_Of course! That's when Cyrus released that gas over the world and turned everyone into Pokemon! But what does she mean by Gods? _

Naoko continued to stare at Charmeleon. "What is a... Pokemon?"

_Huh? Well, that's what you are. You're a Vaporeon._

"I do not know what that is, but I am a water dweller."

_You're a Vaporeon, a water-type Pokemon. And your brother is a Golduck. I really hate to burst your bubble, but they're not Gods._

"If you said such things as a water dweller, you would be very easily exiled!" Naoko exclaimed suddenly. "The form I was blessed with is the very God that gave her very being to become the ocean, the same ocean where my brother and I found you!"

For Charmeleon, there seemed to be no getting through to her. She was so determined in believing her religion that any form of blasphemy would cause her to retaliate very quickly and strongly. Nevertheless, it was aggravating to him how she knew nothing of the real world. _Listen, really! I can prove all this! Back where I came from, there are lots of Vaporeon just like you, and-_

"Please, just stop!" Naoko screamed. If Charmeleon could have moved at the time, he probably would have toppled over from the sheer surprise and volume of her shout. "I have my own beliefs, and you may have yours! Please keep them to yourself!"

_Um... Okay...? _In his mind, Charmeleon muttered under his breath. _I have a feeling this is going to be a very long eternity._

-[oOo]-

To Alice, it seemed to have been an eternity since she had last seen Aaron. Arriving back in Jubilife only a day after they had seen each other, she was rather upset when her parents decided that she would have to keep attending school, even as a Pikachu. Nevertheless she got on with it, until she finally cracked one day on a cloudy afternoon. She needed to see him.

Straight after school that day, she rushed home as fast as her little legs would carry her. She left her things and said goodbye to her parents before deciding to dash straight for Aaron's house, west of the city. Something in her head told her that he was going to arrive home that day.

An hour of constant running, and she soon slowed to a crawl, exhausted from the long trip. Thankfully, Aaron's house was in sight, so she kept running until she couldn't feel her paws anymore.

When she arrived, she stopped for a moment, leaning against the front wall of the house for a minute to catch her breath. Nervously, she clambered up the small flight of stairs and rapped a paw against the old, wooden door. To her surprise, it creaked open itself. _He must be here!_ She thought excitedly as she stepped through the doorway quietly.

Strangely, the old house seemed empty. Alice noticed that the power point that the TV was connected to was switched off, and immediately thought it to be strange, seeing Aaron as the type who would have it on, even if he was not watching it. The house was also near spotless, save for a duffel bag that lay on the table near the living room, open, with items of clothing hanging out of it.

She did notice that there was a light on to her right, from what looked like the kitchen. Figuring Aaron was there, she tiptoed across the stained floorboards as quietly as she could, before planting herself against a wall and peering around the corner. Alice, however, wasn't expecting to see a dragon-like figure, a Charizard, at the counter, pulling two slices of toast out of the toaster oven.

_Ack! A thief! There's a thief in Aaron's house! _Alice started to panic, ducking back around the corner. _No, wait. If that's a thief, he wouldn't break in just to make toast. Unless he's stealing clothes... _

Plucking up as much courage as she could, she peered around the corner again...and mentally wet herself when she saw the Charizard staring right back at her.

"Aaron?" It asked, inching closer.

Alice didn't even take notice of the Charizard speaking, not even thinking clearly, as she simply bolted behind the couch in the living room and curled up into a ball. She began to cower when she heard the perpetrator's very audible footsteps coming at her fast.

The Charizard sound panicked and rushed. "Aaron! Is that you?"

Still a little scared, Alice popped her head out from behind the couch. From the Charizard's end, he could see her tail, and almost collapsed from shock. "Oh my God! You got a sex change!"

"No, you idiot!" Alice shouted irritably, leaping out into the open. "I'm not Aaron, I'm Alice! I _am _a girl!"

The Charizard breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I was a bit worried there."

"You should be! Breaking into his house and using all his bread!"

"I'm not breaking in," the dragon Pokemon replied calmly, "I'm the legal owner of this house."

"Legal owner?" Alice quizzed, before realizing what he meant, and gasping. "Y-you're Allistair? You're his father?"

"In the flesh, luckily."

Alice didn't quite know what to think when the Charizard dropped such a huge bombshell. On one hand, Aaron would be very pleased to hear of his father's return, but on the other hand, she had a bone to pick with him.

"Don't worry about me," Allistair announced, shuffling back into the kitchen. "I'm just grabbing something to eat, and then I'll be leaving. This'll be the last time I see this place." Alice followed him into the kitchen as he continued to moan and sigh. "Aaron can have the whole lot, so long as he survives." There was silence as Allistair sauntered past her and back into the living room, wolfing down his toast, grabbing the duffle bag off the table and making his way for the door.

Every word that came out of Allistair's muzzle increasingly confused Alice until she was no longer able to contain her frustration, letting out a huge outburst of such volume that not even the loudest of Whismur could even hope to match it. "Now listen, buddy! You have got some serious explaining to do! Aaron told me you were dead! And now you're alive, and you're just going to disappear again?" She pointed a small but sharp finger that pierced the Charizard's very being, as she screamed the words; "You, sir, are a coward!"

The words struck him like a brick to the head. Alice didn't settle down at all even when she saw Allistair release his grip on the bag and drop it on the floor.

"Making out like Aaron's not going to come back at all! You should be ashamed of yourself!" She continued, pouring her little heart out. "And for that matter, you're supposed to be dead!"

Allistair slowly craned his long, solid neck around and gave her a stern glare, and at that point silence befell her. "I might be a coward," he started, "but I don't really have a choice. If Aaron sees me, then what? He's going to want to spend time with me, and not continue on his journey. And then what happens to the rest of the world?"

"But..." For a change, Alice was at a loss for words. When he saw the troubled father opening the front door, she spoke up again, halting him once more. "But Aaron told me you were dead! Or was that a lie?"

"I was never dead, that was just what he believed to have seen. He... Cyrus..." The Charizard trembled as he spoke. "He chained us to the wall and hooked a machine up to us, my wife, Sarah, and I... We felt like we were being electrocuted, but... That wasn't it. He wasn't trying to kill us. He was trying to turn us into Pokemon. We were his first little guinea pigs."

Still dumbfounded, Alice found she could do nothing but listen.

"Over the years, I've been many different species of Pokemon. I've been a Beedrill, a Dunsparce, a Snorunt. Hell, I've even been a Magikarp, and that wasn't pretty. But, every time they experimented on us, they got some small detail wrong. Sometimes, the transformation wore off, or it turned me into a particularly strong Pokemon. Eventually, though, we escaped, but only just as Cyrus released that toxin into the air."

Alice was beginning to feel a little sympathetic, but not entirely swayed. "I suppose you have an excuse for not seeing him for so long..."

"I want to see him," Allistair replied, as Alice noticed his eyes were glazed with a layer of tears... "I truly do, but I just can't."

The conversation ended rather abruptly, as Allistair picked up his belongings and squeezed through the door in a comical fashion that seemed to break the mood a little. Nevertheless, Allistair seemed upset in leaving, and as he walked down the balcony stairs, he turned back to the young Pikachu he had just met, and sighed. "If you do see my son, just tell him this... I've never been more proud of him."

Without another word, Allistair started to amble off into the distance, and as if to compliment the situation, a piercing crack of thunder sounded overhead, and a small drizzle began to fall down upon him. He noticed the steam giving off from the flame on his tail; instinctively, he beat his wings and took off into the sky in search of shelter.

-[oOo]—

In the space of only a few minutes, a light drizzle soon turned to a heavy downpour. That didn't seem to dampen Aaron, Luke, Emi and Dewey's spirits, as they made their way from Canalave to Aaron's house.

Or not.

"They just don't try anymore!" Aaron exclaimed, barely making his voice audible over the sound of rain splashing against the surrounding trees and the gravel road below his feet. "Stupid pop artists and rappers always ever sing about either getting drunk or having sex! And then they get a little loop of whatever sound they can make with their saucepans and repeat it for seventy billion minutes!" He wiped his muzzle with his wrist and shook it to release the water from his fur, though it made no difference in the downpour.

Luke wasn't surprised by Aaron's declaration, and Dewey didn't seem interested, but Emi was a little agitated. "Well, metal's not much better! All they ever growl about is killing people and going to Hell!"

"What? No, they... Um... But then..." It was strange to hear Aaron at a loss for words, as usually he would be the one to come up with the answers. "Yeah, well, they still suck."

"Ooh, burn!" Dewey remarked, receiving a high five from Luke moments after.

"Whatever. I give up." Aaron finally admitted defeat, something he had quickly but disapprovingly gotten used to over the past week or two. "I've got an idea. How about we play... 'Who Can Keep Quiet The Longest?' Whoever stays quiet the longest gets... Erm..."

"Aww, do we really have to?" Emi asked disappointedly.

Aaron spun right around and suddenly shouted; "You're out!"

"What? That's no fair!"

"Life's no fair. Look at me, for instance." The others immediately thought 'Here we go again...' but were thankful when Aaron didn't say a single word afterwards, leaving the group in silence.

A sudden crack of lightning overhead, followed by a blinding flash of thunder, caused Emi to suddenly shriek in terror, huddling as close to Aaron as possible, shivering wildly. "We need to find your house, quick!"

"Just because you're out, doesn't mean I give you permission to talk. We're still pl-" Aaron replied sarcastically, before he was cut off by another flash of lightning.

"Azzie!"

"Alright, alright! I'm just kidding! Sheesh." He pointed a moist finger (**I'm so dirty...**) towards the old house hiding behind a thick gathering of trees only a few hundred feet away. "It's just there. We haven't got far to go."

Aaron had to literally drag Emi all the way there, though, which just made the ordeal even tougher when more lightning crashed above them and she screamed her little lungs out. Aaron was a little unappreciative of his more sensitive than usual ears at this point.

To add to his frustration, a female Pikachu was visible on the balcony of his house as he approached. It didn't take long to realise that it was Alice, and when he saw the horrid look on her furry face, he gasped.

"What the hell, Aaron?" She barked.

"Wait! Alice, it's not what it looks like!" Aaron replied, desperately trying to shake the petrified Emolga from his waist.

"I don't see you for three days, and you go and find another girl to flirt with!"

"No! She's just scared of the-" Before he could finish, another round of thunder echoed through the grey sky, and Emi screamed for several seconds. Aaron simply sighed. "She's afraid of thunder, apparently."

-[oOo]-

The second Aaron placed a paw through the door, he felt a vague sense of relief wash over him, looking blissfully over all the possessions he had missed since he had left home. "I can't believe it's been two weeks," He mused to himself out loud, smiling at the sight of his TV as he passed it. "It feels like it's been so much longer, doesn't it? Like, two years, even." For a second, the thought of this being the last time he would likely see any of this again dawned over him, but it was difficult for him to be so melancholy at that moment.

The others, led by Alice, soon marched in. Luke prioritised to head for the kitchen and find something to eat, assuming he didn't need Aaron's permission. Dewey carefully climbed up onto the green leather couch in the center of the living room and started scanning the house with his eyes, noting just how old the house looked; though there was a new plasma screen TV and a Nintendo Wii sitting under it, the other appliances and furniture was quite old. That was understandable, considering his parents weren't supporting him anymore, for obvious reasons.

Alice and Emi had also leapt up onto the lounge chair and, after introducing themselves, started chatting away with each other. "So, what, is Aaron your boyfriend?" Emi asked giddily.

"Well, yeah, I guess," Alice replied slowly. "We haven't officially declared our relationship, or anything, so I guess we're still-"

But Emi cut her off early and started chatting away so fast that she sounded like she wasn't even breathing. "Well, I think you two are perfect for each other! I mean, obviously, because you're both Pikachu, but I mean, you just look like you should be together! Oh, what am I saying! I don't know anything about this! What I'm trying to say is, I mean, you know what I mean, you know?"

"Erm..." Alice sweatdropped. "You sure are excitable."

"Is there anything you don't like about Aaron?"

Alice could feel Emi's hot breath as she pinned the question. "Huh? Oh, um... I guess his taste in music is a little... Dark..." She attempted to inch away slyly, but the hyperactive Emolga only seemed to inch closer to her.

"Oh, I know, right! I mean, metal is the worst music in the world! You can't hear what they're saying, and all they're doing is just playing any old-"

"Listen, maybe we could leave it there," Alice ushered awkwardly, jumping off the lounge. "I need a Tim Tam or something."

"TIM TAM!" Within literally a second, Emi was in the kitchen raiding cupboards.

Meanwhile, Aaron decided to head for the kitchen, feeling his stomach rumble. He passed Luke on the way, noticing he was holding a plate of meat loaf, and pivoted. "Luke, that's probably been in there for at least two-and-a-half weeks."

"Meat loaf'sh meat loaf, dood!" He muffled through a mouthful.

"Yes, but when it's been in there that long, it'll probably be your last meal."

Luke gulped, and scooped up another piece in his stubby hands. "All the more reason to enjoy it!" He chucked it in his mouth, though a part of it missed and fell to the wooden floor below. "Shtop worrhying, Ash."

"Did you just call me Ash?"

Luke swallowed again. "No, I called you Azz, but the two of you are virtually indistinguishable, anyway."

"I'm gonna take that as an insult," Aaron replied with a sarcastic chuckle, before continuing into the kitchen. The first thing he noticed was that the toaster was plugged in atop the bench; when Aaron left two weeks ago, the toaster was packed away into the cupboard beneath. "Hey, Alice," he called out, before the Alice in question suddenly appeared behind him. "Did you cook toast while I was gone, or something?"

"You don't cook toast," Alice corrected, "you cook bread." Aaron accepted his mistake bitterly, and Alice continued. "But, that reminds me... We need to talk about something. How long are you guys going to be staying here before you leave again?"

"Oh, erm..." Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. "We hadn't really discussed..."

Out of nowhere, Dewey appeared around the corner. "I think it's best if we simply stay here and wait for Team Galactic to come to us."

"Eh?" Was Alice's unintelligible reply.

"They're heading to Lake Verity, which is just south of here. We'll know when they're coming, so in a sense this is a near-perfect vantage point."

"Ooh, clever thinking!" Aaron replied enthusiastically. "You are so much better than Nick!"

Alice hesitated, which caught Aaron's attention. "If you're gonna be here for a while, maybe we can get together? Tomorrow night, at Carvanha Cove?"

"You mean that cliff side overlooking Canalave City?" Aaron asked, receiving a nod of affirmation from Alice. "Sure, I'll be there!"

Alice let out a little chuckle as she made for the front door. "Great! Remember, tomorrow night at Carvanha Cove! Seven o'clock! You better not be late!" Aaron was about to stop her, remembering it was still pouring down outside and she would be drenched by the time she even reached Jubilife, but she slammed the front door shut behind her, and a wave of silence swept across the entire household.

Luke broke the silence, placing his crumbed plate in the sink. "Aaron and Alice, sittin' in a tree..." He sang.

The Pikachu was quick to give him a soft slap upside the head. "Knock it off! It's not anything like that, she just wants to talk."

"About what? She'll tell you she loves you, then you have to get married and have kids and-"

"That's _not_ what she wants to talk about!" Aaron snapped, though he was a little unsure himself. His voice was suddenly drowned out by the rain outside becoming heavier, the thousands of droplets crashing against the tin roof proving to be a headache. "Shut up and go outside and check the rain gauge."

"What for?" Luke replied disapprovingly.

"It could flood, y'know. Now go check it!"

Luke sighed and showed himself to the front door, while Aaron, Emi and Dewey settled onto the lounge and flicked the TV on.

_Should be funny when he realises I don't have a rain gauge._

-[oOo]—

By the time Luke had walked around the house to the backyard, he was already drenched in rain, unable to do more than squint to avoid stinging his large eyes. Such limited visibility meant that he was having a hard time seeing anything. The trees that were only a few metres away were a distinct blur of green and brown, and the light emanating from Jubilife City was barely visible.

He continued his search for the elusive rain gauge, holding his arms out in the hope that he might hit it blindly, but he only ended up scraping a bush and a wooden pole with a coiled hose dangling from it.

_I'm beginning to think that there isn't a rain gauge,_ Luke thought, still wandering aimlessly around the yard. _I bet there isn't! Oh, ha, ha, Aaron, very funny, sending me out into the rain like this! _

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard - barely - light footsteps sounding from behind. He spun around; even in the rain, squinting, he could see that no-one was behind him.

When he turned around again, he nearly toppled over in surprise, seeing a blur of dark blue and red before him. He tried to focus his eyes, and determined the blur to be in the shape of... _A Weavile?_

Before he had time to confirm his suspicions, the world around him seemed to twist and turn and melt into a hypnotic mess of pink and blue swirls, twirling around him, making his stomach churn violently. What really threw him off was the transparent Weavile charging for him, claws outstretched, and a solid Weavile standing behind it, clearly visible through the see-through Pokemon.. He turned to run, but froze when he saw his own body, staring back at him blankly, mouth hanging open lifelessly.

He looked at himself, and almost fainted. He was see-through too!

Luke felt a set of sharp objects pierce his neck; he spun around, seeing the transparent foe's claws speared into him, yet he felt no pain at all. The Weavile, claws anchored in Luke's neck, lifted him off the ground effortlessly, and with a mighty heave, threw Luke straight for the lifeless Weavile standing before them...

...And just like that, the colours faded, and he blanked out.

-[oOo]—

"I mean, it's cool being a Dewott, and all," Dewey declared, holding a Gamecube controller in his paws, "but it would be kinda cool running around in a fantasy world like this-" He nudged toward the TV, upon which they were playing Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, "-and be an elf and slash stuff and rescue princesses and stuff."

"I used to be an adventurer once," Aaron replied with a large grin on his face.

"And I'm going to assume you took an arrow to the knee," Dewey replied, pressing firmly on the controller suddenly.

"What? No! I took Ganon to the knee. I don't like Ganon at all."

Their conversation was quickly interrupted when the front door burst open, and a Treecko stepped inside, dragging in half the world's water with him, as well as a pouch, not saying a word.

"You right, Luke?" Aaron asked, leaning over the couch.

"Never better. Why do you ask?" Luke replied.

_There's something wrong with his voice... _"You need a lozenge, or something." Luke turned to him with a curious look on his face. "Your throat sounds really sore... There should be some cough lollies in the bathroom or something."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Luke continued up the stairs calmly, leaving Aaron to wonder why he was acting like that, even being out in the rain for some while.

Luke opened the door to the bathroom, and slyly closed it behind him, before jumping up onto the basin and looking in the mirror. "Hmph," He growled, checking his face, giving his pudgy nose a prod. "Looks like I'll have to make do with this puny body for a little while. At least, until all this is over."

He jumped down, dissatisfied, and pulled what looked like a walkie talkie out of the pouch hanging from his shoulder. With a stubby finger, he pressed against one of the buttons inaccurately, and began to talk. "I know what they're up to. They plan on waiting here until you arrive. I'll have to intervene before you get here, or else they'll cause too much trouble."

"Good work, Dante," the feminine voice called from the other end. "Just make sure they're gone by tomorrow night. We'll have Mesprit by then, and from there on in we proceed exactly as planned."

"Of course." Luke – or, rather, Dante – pressed the button on the device again, and threw it back in the pouch. "This should be fun..."

-[oOo]-

**Vale: OMFG, I really finished another chapter! Apologies, but again, it doesn't really matter to you people, does it?**

**This really did take a long time to write. Not because it was at all complicated, but I had to do Centrelink and TAFE stuff, and Dylbert deleted my stuff, and I had writer's block...**

**Aaron: Stop making excuses. Everyone is sick of it, and... Hey, what happened to Luke, anyway?**

**Luke: I don't even know myself!**

**Vale: Then how are you talking?**

**Luke: ...Because I AM YOUR CONSCIENCE.**

**Vale: Let's just move onto the reviews, then. ...Oh dear lord, **Tanon**, you expect me to read all of this? Arceus have mercy on my poor eyes! ...Seriously, though. So much critique, too much to respond to here. (In fact, I don't think I ever responded to it.)**

**So... Yes, yaffled. To rant aimlessly. I think it's a brilliant word.**

**And the Kanye West thing? Oh, you. That's been so overdone. (Ignores Chapter 39)**

**Yes, Rhyder isn't necessarily the best at anything, **Sobi.

**Oh, shush! It's hard to differentiate between the two sometimes.**

**Yes, back to the adventure, a month or two later. I'm so slow.**

**Thank you, **Shedinjaninja. **At least somebody listened...**

**Now, what... When did I leave a review? And for that matter, why would I leave it under my old pen name? Hmm. Seems I have trolled myself. *scratches chin* Well, I'll try and solve this mystery while I write Chapter 40, how about that? No, because I'll just get distracted for a week or two. Sigh.**


	40. With Friends Like These

**Vale: Would you believe it, we're up to Chapter 40 (already)! **

**...Yeah, okay, it took **_**ages **_**to get this far, but I still got this far, didn't I? I told you I wasn't gonna give up on this thing, no matter how long it took. Plus, I need to catch up to Tanon, who overtook me in, like, two months. Grr.**

**Whatever. This is no time for grr-ing, this is the time for action! And action you shall most probably receive!**

**-[CHAPTER 40]- **

The empty hum of silence drove Luke from his sleep; he fluttered his eyes open to find himself no longer standing in the rain, but surrounded by a never-ending void of black on all sides, and a circle of shining white beneath his feet. Yet he didn't seem all that fazed, instead sighing to himself. "Gee, if I'm dreaming, then I clearly have no imagination."

A sudden whooshing sound behind him made him pivot his head to the side, but he turned around entirely when he made out a familiar white-beaked, black-masked face attached to a long white neck, sticking out of the shadows.

The voice boomed, but it wasn't shouting. _"You seem to be very calm."_

"Lugia!" Luke suddenly shouted, though he was somewhat perplexed by what he had said. "Erm... Why? Should I be worried?"

"_I expected you to be worried," _the sea guardian replied, his beak not moving at all in time with his words. _"After all, that brainless Annuler Dante did just switch bodies with you."_

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Luke pushed his hands out in front of him, signalling Lugia to slow down. "Dante? Annuler? Switch bodies? One thing at a time, please!"

"_An Annuler is born at random, as you may already know. However, Dante was unfortunately born with the power, and when I told him of his duty as one, to annul Cyrus himself, he hastily and angrily declined. He was working with both the Galactics and those dreaded Pokemon Hunters, as somewhat of a freelancer between the two syndicates."_

"I knew it. The second I saw him, I knew he was bad news." Luke folded his arms and leaned to the side slightly. "So where does the...body switching come into this?"

"_All Annulers have a specific talent. Some may wield more powerful versions of standard attacks, while others gain an entirely new ability. Your Pikachu friend, Aaron, performs a variant of Volt Tackle that allows him to fly temporarily, and Dante can exchange bodies with whoever he pleases, mostly for espionage, for example."_

This got Luke thinking. Aaron was right when he said that maybe Annulers have different abilities between them, even if what he said was just a hunch. Just this afternoon, when he was atop the Milk Lizard, Emi was being carried away by the wind, and Luke rescued her, travelling several feet in the blink of an eye. He wondered...

"Hey, Lugia... Erm..."

"_Hm? What is it?"_

"Am I... Am I an Annuler?"

The area fell silent, with only the faintest hum of nothing to distract them Luke from the sudden tension.

-[oOo]-

Unbeknownst to Aaron and company, Dante was sitting amongst them on that old green lounge, though in the guise of their Treecko friend, nobody seemed to notice. Even if, for some reason, it were painfully obvious that Luke's body had been stolen by their enemy, like for example, _their voice,_ they wouldn't have noticed as they were still caught up playing Legend of Zelda.

Since then, they had moved on from Wind Waker to Ocarina of Time, and Aaron seemed to be infuriated as he mashed at the A button. "Goddamnit! I wish I hadn't forgotten to get that stinking horse, what's-its-name, erm... It doesn't matter! Now I have to roll everywhere."

"Because walking is faster than rolling," Dewey sighed, his face buried in a red cushion. "Come on, you're taking forever. Roll faster."

"Well, I'm going to bed, then," Emi yawned, noting the quarter-moon hanging in the sky through the window. "You two are boring. Stop being boring."

"I guess I'll turn in too," Luke/Dante replied, stretching his arms as he slid off the couch.

Aaron calmed down enough to reply to them, pausing the game. "Sorry, guys. Um... Emi, you can have the guest bed in the room at the top of the stairs, and Luke, you can have my bed. I'm sure you know where it is."

Strangely enough, Dante didn't know at all, so he took a shot in the dark. "The middle room, right?"

"Duhh."

_What a fluke! _"Alright, I guess I'll see you all tomorrow, then." As inconspicuously as possible, he crept up the stairs and into the bathroom. When Dewey turned around, he emerged from the bathroom holding a beige pouch, a rather shifty look lining his face as he retreated into his sleeping quarters.

"Luke sure is acting weird at the moment," Dewey pronounced as he turned back to Aaron. "And what's that pouch he just came out of the bathroom with...?"

Aaron didn't seem to notice, instead still mashing at the N64 controller.

"Are you listening to me?"

Aaron paused the game. "Did you say something?"

"Never mind..."

-[oOo]-

"_We never really had any reason to tell you, Luke. If Aaron had not accepted his duty as an Annuler, then we would have asked you, but, as you can see, he did."_

"So I am one?"

Lugia nodded regretfully, but to his surprise, Luke only emitted a calm hum. _"You don't seem very surprised."_

"I am, but it's hard to get worked up when you don't have to annul anybody, isn't it?" Luke replied quietly, looking slightly towards the ground.

"_You might."_

Luke raised his eyelids, for lack of any eyebrows.

"_If Aaron should fail in his task for whatever reason, then someone else would have to take his place and annul Cyrus himself."_

"If he dies then I'll kill him," Luke replied determinedly, lifting his head and looking Lugia straight in the eye. "And when I kill him, I'll annul Cyrus, too. Who am I to let the world be destroyed, anyway?"

Lugia sighed in relief. _"You're a lot more accepting than the Pikachu, that's for sure."_

Luke screwed his face up and started to chortle to himself. "He cried, didn't he?" When Lugia replied positively, he started to laugh a great big hearty laugh, much to the legendary Pokemon's confusion. Luke looked up towards the non-existent sky, his chuckle slowing to a stop as he began to talk. "Ever since I met him that day, he's always been a big crybaby. Every time something doesn't go his own way, he just breaks down in tears or starts beating himself up about it." Memories were starting to flood back into Luke's mind as he started to reminisce to Lugia. "Now, he tries to hide it, but when I first met him..."

At that moment when he entered a state of dazed recollection, the never-ending black surrounding them began to shift and swirl into a plethora of red, yellow and blue, and within the mass of colours, several basic shapes began to take form. Yellow stretched out beneath their feet, ending in a blanket of blue, and above them, sploshes of red flowed, with a single splotch of white hanging in the distance. Slowly, it all began to take form; the yellow became a stretch of sand, the blue formed the sea, reflecting the rays of the newly formed white sun that hung amidst the red and orange sky.

Luke snapped out of his trance, his jaw dropping to the sand beneath him. "What is all this...?"

As he said so, the scenery started to lose definition, becoming not much more than a blur. The one thing he could still make out was Lugia, whose full-bodied self stood tall and proud next to the confused lizard. "This is a projection of your thoughts and memories," Lugia explained, not unlike some sort of soulless video game tutorial, "but you need to focus on the memory in order for me to visualise it properly."

"Erm... Okay..." Luke concentrated on the memory that had suddenly presented itself to him once more, and once again, the colours took a defined shape until they were as clear as day. "Well, it's not an _exact_ replica," Luke replied, focusing intently on the rough sea of his creation, "but if I do remember correctly..."

-(xXx)-

_...He was drowning._

_I just so happened to look out towards the sea and see a spiky tuft of brown hair sticking out of the water, bobbing in the waves, along with a waving hand, but these, too, soon disappeared under the waves._

"_No lifeguards here," I thought to myself. "Looks like I've got no choice!" Ignoring the bellowing of my parents behind me, I dashed along the beach's thick sands and dived into the water, swimming out as fast as I could._

_When I got close, I dipped my head underwater and peeled my eyes open reluctantly; I gasped, when I saw the boy with the spiky hair, his left leg tightly constricted by the slimy tentacle of a wild Octillery. Not hesitating, I began forcing my foot into the tentacle, but the octopus Pokemon didn't give in, instead dragging the bow even further under, bubbles escaping from his mouth suddenly._

_As much as I didn't want to hurt a Pokemon myself, I thrust my foot into the side of the Octillery's head, and all of a sudden, the grip on the boy's leg loosened, and I seized the opportunity, grabbing him by the arms and kicking towards the surface._

_It was a tough swim back to shore. Spiky hair wasn't necessarily the lightest kid around, but light enough that I could throw him on my back and carry him back. When we reached the shore, I ran up onto the sand and collapsed, letting him roll off of my back. _

_I turned to him. "You alright, spiky-hair?"_

_No response._

"_Hey! Are you okay?"_

_He wasn't breathing._

_A small crowd began to gather as I laid my hands on his chest and pressed down as hard as I could several times, then reached for his mouth and breathed in. When he still showed no signs of life, I kept trying to resuscitate him, repeating the process several times._

_It almost looked like there was no point in trying anymore when I placed my mouth around his and breathed in._

_His eyes opened._

_Suddenly, spiky-hair went into a panic and struggled to throw me off. "What the heck! You kissed me! Ack!" He started flailing about as I tried to calm him down._

"_No, no, I was just-"_

"_To think my first kiss was from _a boy!_" _

_The kid kept flailing around until he heard two voices shouting his name. I, not wanting to prolong the awkward situation, climbed off of his chest as we both turned and looked in the direction of the voices, spotting a man with twice-as-spiky hair as the kid wearing a pair of white board shorts, and a woman with mid-back length blonde hair wearing a pink dress, both running towards us. "Is he okay?" I heard the woman cry as the both of them knelt down before spiky-hair, the woman scooping him up in her arms. "Oh, I almost lost my poor Azzie-wazzie!" She started pecking his cheek with her bright red lips._

"_You're a good kid, you know that?" The spiky-haired man knelt down by my side and placed a firm hand on my shoulder. "You did a good thing today, saving our son."_

"_Eheh..." I rubbed my neck, a little embarrassed. "I just did what I thought was right, that's all..."_

_I turned back to their son, the kid I had just pulled from the water, and smiled. It was a good feeling, knowing you had just saved someone's life, and making so many people feel happy. The smile of mine soon disappeared, though, because the kid seemed pretty upset._

_I crawled closer. "You okay?"_

_He closed his eyes, even then unable to hide the tear that had seeped through one of them. "That thing... That thing almost killed me..."_

"_You're here now, and that's all that matters, isn't it?"_

_The tear streamed down his cheek, making way for more underneath his eyelash. "If I knew how to swim, I wouldn't have gotten caught..."_

_His father chimed in. "Whether you can swim well or not doesn't necessarily help when you get caught by an Octillery."_

"_But if I were as tough as you," he cried, looking directly at me, "you wouldn't have had to risk your life to save me!" He curled back into his mother's arms. "I can't do anything! I'm useless!"_

_I couldn't take his whining, his negative attitude. I clasped my hands on both his shoulders and pulled him towards me, which shocked him._

_I looked him in the eye, and with a stern smile, I said; "Everybody's good for something. You might not be a good swimmer, but maybe you'll make a good Pokemon Trainer, or something like that!"_

"_No way!"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Pokemon are way too scary! One of them almost made me drown!"_

_I sighed. This kid sure did take a lot of convincing. "They're not all scary. A lot of them are small, and cute, and won't hurt anybody." I must have been getting through, because he had since kept his mouth shut. "Y'know, I don't think I've seen you around before. What's your name, spiky-hair?"_

_I should have already known what his name was, as his mother had given that away with the silly pet names, but nevertheless he told me. "I'm... My name's Aaron."_

_I took my hands off of his shoulders, feeling them get a little sweaty. "Well, I'm Luke. Listen, maybe we can get together sometime, and I'll teach you all I know about Pokemon! So, how 'bout it?"_

_Aaron fell silent again, presumably thinking for a minute._

"_I don't know much, but I can still teach you, and if there's something I don't know, we can learn it together! How does that sound?"_

_It took a minute, but for the first time since I had laid eyes on him, he gave a smile. A fragile one, but a smile nonetheless._

-(xXx)—

Lugia started to laugh, irritating Luke somewhat. "What? What's so funny?"

"_You..."_ He cleared his throat in an almost sarcastic manner. _"You kissed a boy..."_

Luke was now pissed. "I DID NOT! I WAS RESUSCITATING HIM!"

The mere sound of his shout seemed to disrupt the scenery around them, as the shapes that had once looked so clear all melted into a psychedelic mix of random, and slowly mixed into black again.

Lugia's head was for a second time visible._ "Yes. Whatever you say." _He cleared his throat again. _"But I digress. Perhaps we shouldn't be spending time reminiscing of days past. Nevertheless, your story makes me think that, when the time comes, he will need your help again. And with your new abilities, the both of you should do well."_

"Abilities... Right..." Before Luke could even begin to think about his new so-called 'abilities', the legendary before him began to disappear into the darkness around them. "Wait!" Luke cried. "What about..."

Lugia was gone.

-[oOo]—

It wasn't long before Aaron and Dewey had both retreated to bed as well. Dewey, under Aaron's instruction, took the big king-size bed that remained in his parents' old room, and Aaron resorted to curling up on the couch _(Because I am such a good host!). _

When the house was almost entirely silent, except for the buzzing of the TV downstairs that Aaron had left on, his bedroom door slowly creaked open, and out stepped a Treecko, armed with a wooden plank about as long as his body, the same small pouch he had before dangling from his other shoulder. He slowly tiptoed down the stairs, the plank of wood hanging over his shoulder, and made his way towards the couch where Aaron slept soundly, standing in front of him.

He placed the piece of wood at his feet slowly, and rummaged through his pouch, pulling out a small black spherical device, a stylized yellow 'G' adorning the front of it. For a few seconds he simply stared at the ball, then at the sleeping mouse on the couch, and grinned sadistically, before placing the ball against Aaron's head.

-[oOo]-

Dewey couldn't sleep.

For the past half an hour, he had been tossing and turning atop the ruggedly hard mattress that, supposedly, Aaron's parents used to sleep on. He figured, at first, that because he was a Pokemon, sleeping on such solid surfaces shouldn't be too... hard, but he'd since had second opinions about the whole thing. What was probably worse was the decidedly un-kept room; the mattress gave off the unpleasant aroma of old shorts, and the ceiling above was littered in cobwebs.

He suddenly shouted in frustration, teeth gritted and all. "That's it! I can't sleep on this thing!" He leaped out of bed and threw open the door, waltzing out into the upper hallway, and searching through the wooden railing and below into the living room. "Aaron, I really need to sleep somewhere else! That bed is-"

He stopped suddenly, his eyes going wide, seeing Luke leaning over the green chair, holding a black Poke Ball in his ball-tipped fingers. He thrust it forward, releasing a blinding red light from inside it, blinding Dewey almost instantly and forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut. When he opened them, he could see Luke unhurriedly backing away from the chair, a sinister smirk lining his face.

"I knew there was something going on here." Preparing for the worst, he drew the two scalchops from his sides.

The Treecko looked up, the same smirk still present, eyeing Dewey with what he would have thought to be murderous intent. "It's about time someone noticed. Everyone around here is an ignorant fool, but you seem to be able to acknowledge even the slightest of discrepancies around you."

"The deep, wicked voice kinda gave it away." He leapt over the guard railings and down onto the bottom level, before dashing toward the hostile lizard and holding both his sharp shells at his opponent's thin, green neck, ready to scissor at it within a moment's notice. "Now, who the hell are you, and what have you done with Luke?"

The scalchops held towards his neck made him ruefully nervous, and he began cursing himself in his mind for not being more attentive. Nevertheless, he tried to keep his composure. "You don't remember me? But I went through all that trouble to remember you, Dewey..."

The Dewott gritted his teeth, and inched ever closer.

"Dante, the Weavile. I believe I met you on the Crusaders' airship."

At first, Dewey only managed a sigh, before speaking his frustration. "I think we've reached an impasse here. You say you're a Weavile, but here you are..." He signalled with his eyes towards the rest of Dante's substitute body. "You can see why I'm kind of confused."

"If you _must _know," Dante groaned. "I'm an Annuler, and as such I can switch bodies with anyone I please!" Before Dewey could so much as question the idea, Dante shoved a big foot into Dewey's chest and pushed him back towards the couch, giving him enough time to dive for the wooden plank he had placed on the ground before. With two out-of-proportion hands he gripped the piece of wood tightly, and readied himself in a battle stance. "The drawback is, when I jump into another Pokemon's body, I know none of their abilities, as if I'm a newborn, so I have to rely on makeshift melee weapons." He held his weapon out before him, ready to strike. "But that doesn't matter. I can still-"

"No more talk!" Dewey jumped back to his feet and lashed at the Treecko. No use; he leaped to the left and slung the plank towards Dewey's face. Dewey instinctively ducked and thrust his head towards Dante, striking him in the chest and knocking him back a few metres, before charging forward and slashing away with his scalchops.

SWISH!

A lamp came crashing down from atop a drawer.

SLASH!

A photo frame split cleanly in two.

WOOSH!

Dewey rejoiced as he sliced cleanly, but barely, into Dante's right arm, which drooped towards the ground, a small trail of crimson trickling from it. At first, he cried out in pain, but the disgruntled breathing was quickly substituted with a laugh of immoral satisfaction. "That's fine! Cut away all you like! I don't care! This is only your friend's body, after all!"

A short and sudden gasp from Dewey assured Dante that he had an advantage, assuming Dewey wasn't some kind of sadist. His thoughts were confirmed, as the otter Pokemon sheathed his scalchops once more with a heavy sigh.

"Fine."

He lashed for Dante another time, this time leaping into the air and slamming his tail right onto Dante's head, dazing him temporarily. He seized the opportunity and rushed toward him again, surrounding himself in a veil of water and charging straight for him. Upon impact, Dante was taken aback, stumbling into the television cabinet and toppling over in an almost comedic fashion. He quickly leapt up again, right as Dewey was about to strike with a clenched paw, lucky enough to stop it with his own hand. Wood plank firmly clasped in his right hand, he swung inaccurately but wildly, striking Dewey in the chest, and forcing him to stagger only momentarily.

That was more than enough time for Dante to swing his large tail right into Dewey's face, sending him flying further across the room than before. He landed with a soft thud on the rug beneath their feet. Before he could contemplate his pain, he jumped to his feet once more, and waited.

Dante recklessly charged at Dewey and swung the piece of wood straight for him, but he was quick to leap to the side, and swing his own tail into the Treecko's small torso, taking away his breath almost immediately as he fell to his knees, and finally, the floor.

Triumphantly, Dewey shoved his foot onto Dante's chest, pinning him to the floor. "Now, tell me where Luke and Aaron are."

Dante splattered out a cough with his reply. "Hmph! Not that it matters anymore! Cyrus will have executed his plan within just a few days!"

"So you think."

"You idiot! I was just a diversion!"

"Diversion?" Dewey gasped.

"As we speak, Team Galactic is on their way to Lake Verity to secure Mesprit! I was sent here to divert and, if possible, capture you. And at the very least, I do have the Pi-"

Dante's wailing was interrupted suddenly when the front door burst open. The two of them both turned towards it, eyes wide in surprise, as a Weavile waltzed in, chanting all the while. "Look out, here comes the Lukey Man!" He laughed nonchalantly.

Both Dewey and Dante couldn't help but to stutter in their confusion.

"Oh, right, Dewey. You haven't heard my theme song before." Luke sniggered, before turning towards the Treecko pinned under Dewey's foot. "You, you bastard! Give me my body back!"

The most obvious grin lined Dante's face, worrying Luke somewhat. "Of course. My pleasure."

"Huh?"

A similar feeling began to envelope Luke again, as the wacky swirls of colours surrounded him and Dante once more. Dante's transparent self rose from the ground out of the Treecko body and walked slowly, dramatically towards Luke. It seemed to take a lifetime, as if the entire scene was being presented in slow motion.

Dante soon found himself standing before his original body. With fierce eyes, he drove his claw into Luke's throat, which obviously made him jump, but surprisingly, he felt no pain, at all. He lifted his arm, taking Luke's now transparent self with it.

"I can't stand that puny little body. You can have it back."

With a heave, Dante flung Luke straight towards his body, and when the two made contact, everything went white for a few seconds.

He flickered his eyes.

Slowly, everything came back to him, and within a few seconds he could make out the distinct shape of a Dewott, whose foot was firmly planted into his chest. "Hey, Dewey, mind..." He had to take a second to collect his breath. "Mind taking your foot out of my stomach...?"

Dewey looked directly down upon him, eyes wide, dumbfounded. "What the..."

Before he could even act, he felt something smack his leg hard, and he toppled to the ground, just as Luke was able to swiftly roll out of the way. He landed, chin first, with a hollow thud against the cold floorboards, his eyes lightly shut. He was out cold.

Dante stood over the top of them, holding a black Poke Ball directly towards Dewey. "You actually posed a threat for a moment, until you let your guard down so easily." He thrust the ball onto Dewey's forehead, before his entire body was converted into a mass of red light, sucked up into the ball in the blink of an eye.

When Luke caught of the yellow G that adorned the front of the Poke Ball, he gasped, and suddenly went into rage mode. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He screeched.

"I apologize, but I'm afraid I forgot to bring enough Poke Balls to capture you with," Dante replied, rummaging around in the beige pouch he had left sitting around beside the green sofa. "And, even if I did..." He shifted his eyes to a wall mounted clock to his right, hanging above the drawer which once displayed a pearlescent blue lamp, now shattered to pieces from the fight before. "One in the morning. You know what they say, hm? 'Time waits for no man?'"

He opened his mouth, and out shot a beam of searing cold that struck Luke squarely in the chest, pinning him to the wall as ice quickly formed around his small body, leaving only his head, neck and left foot exposed.

"But now, all you _can_ do is wait." Dante turned his back to him and showed himself to the front door, which he forced open with a hefty swing of his clawed foot. Before he left, he eyed him one last time. "And thankfully, the waiting will be over very soon. In three days, to be exact."

"Three days?" Luke was understandably confused, amongst all the shuddering and shivering from being frozen and whatnot.

"This world will cease to exist, and Cyrus' utopia will replace it, and it will all happen in three days exactly." He finally took his leave after saying so, not even bothering to shut the door behind him, leaving Luke frozen, with the cold night wind smacking his exposed head.

-[oOo]-

That night, Charmeleon couldn't sleep.

Of course he couldn't sleep. Believe it or not, it's very hard for an inanimate object to be able to do things that living creatures can do, even despite the fact that this particular inanimate object housed inside of it a living soul anyway. But, even if he were given the ability to pass out on his own accord, he probably wouldn't have anyway.

Because he would have been dead. Remember, he's a fire type, and they don't mix so well with the ocean.

Nevertheless, Charmeleon couldn't sleep. Too much had happened today. Being turned to stone and thrown in the ocean, winding up on an extremely remote island upon which lived a bunch of seemingly former humans so far removed from the civilized world that they had absolutely no idea what civilization itself was.

Speaking of what he had said, he felt somewhat insecure that he was staying in a small hut, standing no more than two metres away from a sleeping mind reader Vaporeon named Naoko. She could have been awake without him knowing, reading his every thought, judging him almost as harshly as she did on the beach before, simply because of his different beliefs.

He sighed, mentally.

He needed to get his mind off of things for a while, so he started darting his eyes around the part of the hut upon which his frozen eyes were fixed upon. Naoko was curled up on a small makeshift bed of wool and bamboo, and apart from that, there wasn't much else to the small hut, though the hut itself was in fact carved out of a rather tall oak tree. A few other so-called 'water dwellers' had helped him up the ladder and into the decidedly empty but cosy hut that was no bigger than the PC games section at an EB games store. (**And that's small!**)

The village in which this cosy little hut was situated contained many similar tree huts, and virtually nothing else, though he didn't see much else of the island in the transition from beach to village. Just a lot of pine trees. The water dwellers themselves seemed to be scarce; he had only seen nine of them so far, including Kai and Naoko, and the Wartortle and Prinplup that had helped him up the ladder.

Amidst his jumbled thoughts, a familiar voice startled him. "It's best if you get some sleep, fire breather."

He would have turned towards the voice, had he the mobility to do so. _What? _

"Sleep. You need sleep. So I don't hear you talking to me anymore."

_Naoko... You mean you can hear me in your sleep?_

"Yes." She seemed quite grumpy and tired.

_Sorry to hear that, but it's kinda hard to go to sleep like this._

"You should at least try," Naoko replied, a shiny black eye now staring back at his statue-like form. "Remember, we have to use you as our sacrifice soon."

Charmeleon didn't seem to have a reply to that, instead opting for a sinking feeling in his chest.

Nevertheless, it seemed to get the message across to Naoko, who was still not happy. "I do not approve of it, either, but we must offer our final sacrifice so that we may resurrect the great Jekyll and attain eternal salvation..."

It was from that point on that the both of them kept their mouths shut, and Charmeleon had assumed that his new 'friend' had slipped into a self-induced coma once again.

-[oOo]-

**Vale: Well, I got through another one, and I'm still not dead, so I'm making progress again. Yay! I think I might need to work on my fight scenes a little more but otherwise I'm (somewhat) happy with it.**

**Aaron: Personally, I hated it. What the hell did I even do in this chapter? Dewey and Dante and Luke all cutting into my screen time...**

**Vale: Aww, c'mon now! We don't need to be in the spotlight all the time, do we?**

**Anyway, reviews. Now. I've decided to simply give thanks to those who reviewed, rather than address everyone's review in full, though if a point needs addressing, then I shall. So, anyway, thanks to pichufan, pikachucat, ShedinjaNinja, GameMastrX and DraconicReclaimer for all your reviews! It seems my rant last chapter paid off.**

**Also...**

**_Mewtastic: _Yeah, yaffled! It's a brilliant word.  
**

**Well, actually, I picked Naoko because she was one of the Kimono Girls in HG/SS, though she was the one that used Jolteon, funnily enough. And Kai? Mmm.**

**_Tanon: _Once again, dialogue of teenagers doesn't have to be perfect, especially when Aaron is ranting about (expletive) pop music.  
**

**I know you're confused... But if you're still confused after reading this chapter, iunno.**

**Yep, I finished reading it. A first, I believe.**

**So, I'll reply to everyone who left me reviews through PM, so as to avoid having half a chapter being about reviews of the previous chapter. And, don't worry, there's lots of funnies next chapter, incase you didn't quite get your lulz fix from this one.**

**Until next time, remember to yell Giga Volt Tackle!**

**-Vale**


	41. The Long-Awaited Update!

**-[CHAPTER 41]-**

**Vale: **Alright, so this is the inevitable "OMG THIS FIC ISN'T DEAD YET!" chapter right here, so feel free to skip this chapter entirely and head straight to 42.

So, I know what you're thinking. "Why is this here? Didn't you just have one of these hanging off the end of your story, only to replace it with an actual chapter, a thing that is so rare that I'm surprised we haven't invented flying cars in the off-time?"

Honestly, it's because simply replacing that last author's note chapter with the actual chapter meant that no-one realised that I had updated, even though it was kind of obvious. Y'know, I used to get a lot of people reading before I fell off the face of the earth for seven months, but when I finally updated? Three weeks in and barely twenty views.

So, I don't know if this will change anything, but I feel that this should stay here anyway, as kind of an update to everyone.

So, first and foremost, yes. Divine Intervention is not dead – far from it, in fact. I'll be holding on until the last ember fades.

**Aaron: **Yeah, that line's already taken. By a far better author than you, I might add.

**Vale: **Until the last leaf falls, then? Geez, get off my case!

I have been legitimately busy with real-life stuff. Yes, contrary to popular belief, I am not a robot. I got myself a job, I've been studying journalism at TAFE, and I've... well, technically, I AM homeless at the moment. I mean, I'm living with DYLB3RT1993 at the moment, but I – my family – does not have a house. It's been a stressful time, and sad to say but I've had to put Divine Intervention aside for a while and get back on track with stuff.

**Aaron: **As much as I hate the guy, I will give him credit for that.

**Vale: **Thanks, ass****.

**Aaron: **Ah, you're just as passionate as ever!

**Vale: **But now I'm back on track. I'm about to repost Chapter 42, as it shall now be known, and Chapter 43 is open on my desktop right now, around 2,000 words in. Rest assured, you will see a new chapter soon enough!

Needless to say, I'm back on the internet again, and a little more social than before, with a newfound confidence thanks to the awesome job I got.

**Aaron:** As a pizza delivery boy.

**Vale: **No, it's not like that! Of a morning, I go around to different businesses and see if they'd like to order anything for lunch. Then I bring it back to them, on foot, around midday or so. I've gotten to know a lot of new people, and I'm not quite as shy as I used to be.

**Aaron: **So, a pizza delivery boy, then.

**Vale: **Ignoring that... My point is, because nickioli13 and KinkedSpawn have left town and I don't talk to them quite as much as I do, I'm looking for new friends. ...I mean, I'm not replacing them, I just... Um...

Look, just drop me a line if you like. Message me here on FanFiction if you like, or you can usually catch me playing Rock Band 3 (mostly on 360, but I do have the PS3 version as well), ModNation Racers, and Forza 4/Horizon. I'm over on deviantART as well.

Finally, plans for the future. Apart from the obvious plan of me uploading three chapters for the year, I've been working on numerous other things – mostly, my drawing skills. I'm working on those so I can either start up a webcomic or do a flash animation, possibly Divine Intervention related. Oh, and an RPG. I'm making an RPG. Or, about to, anyway.

Plus, I do have an up-and-running YouTube channel which goes by the working title Thine Foot Is Ouch! And under the username valeforxd2 (lost my old account...) There's Rock Band vids, random game stuff and a chart that I made for the game Phase Shift. More stuff to come soon!

**Aaron: **Idiot, this isn't some stupid advertising website! You're supposed to have some actual story in these chapters! It's FanFiction rules!

**Vale: **Ah, right! Hang on. *starts rummaging through closet* And also, I've received a few PMs regarding the use of the Crusaders and their quirky members in stories of their own. *pulls out a skull* Now, I don't know how exactly you're going to do that, as I haven't quite delved far enough into the Crusaders yet, nor have I fully explained some of the plot points, so it'd be a bit hard at this point.

However, I want everyone to know this. You are more than welcome to use the Crusaders in your own spin-off. This includes all Crusader members, as well as the main characters of Divine Intervention as well. Heck, you can even make up your own characters and even give them the Annulment if you want! Frankly, I don't care if you use it.

**Aaron: **Ooh, that's harsh.

**Vale:** Let me rephrase that! I don't care, as in I don't care that you're using my characters. In fact, I'm ecstatic that people want to use my characters and terminology! It's awesome!

**Aaron: **Oh, but we don't appreciate any yaoi or yuri or anything like that. And we would really prefer if you kept things to a PG-slash-T-rated level. This is Pokemon, after all, and words like [expletive] and [expletive] just don't work well in this instance. Plus, there are probably weeaboo ten-year-old kids reading this stuff.

**Vale: **I agree, for once.

**Aaron: **We gonna do this story thing, or what?

**Vale: **Oh, right! *tosses Aaron the skull*

**Aaron: **Alright, let's see... *puts hand in skull and starts moving jaw up and down* Alas, poor Yorick... I knew him... in America!

**Vale: ***puts sock on his hand and pretends it's a puppet* Who's this Yorick fellow?

**Aaron: **I don't know. Let's make out!

*the skull and sock puppet start pretend-kissing eachother*

**Vale: **Has it occurred to you that people are currently reading about a human and a Pikachu forcing two puppets to make out with each other?

**Aaron: ***talking through skull* No, but I feel awfully sad all of a sudden.

**Vale: **Why's that?

**Aaron:** Because I have noBODY! Geddit? Because I don't have a body, and nobody loves me! Oh, my Arceus, that's hilarious!

**Vale: **And on that unintentionally unfunny bit of dialogue, we return you to your normal viewing...er, reading.

**Aaron: **You wouldn't dare! You don't have the guts! ...Matter of fact, neither do I! *falls into an uncontrollable laughing fit*


	42. Bluffing

-[CHAPTER 42]-

A quick tap of his claw against the lit-up console was followed by a mechanical _whoosh_ to his right, and Dante was allowed access into the room. He quietly walked in through the doorway, with Cyrus in tow – from Dante's point of view, he was but a tall human figure who threatened to trip him up with every step of his apparently large feet. He was wary of this false threat as he led the Galactic leader into the chamber, the two of them now gazing down towards the middle of the room.

In the middle of said room was a large tube, almost as wide as a small bedroom, and as about as tall as one as well. Heavily stained yellow glass formed the walls of the tube, with pipes entering and leaving the top and bottom, perhaps for air. Below the tube was a gaping black hole, of which one could not see the bottom.

And within the tube itself, a Pikachu, Dewott and Totodile lay sprawled out on its metal floor, the only viable sign of life they showed being their slowly rising and deflating chests.

Dante and Cyrus walked down a small flight of stairs, past several computer terminals and sets of complicated, unrecognisable machinery, and stopped before the tube, peering with a squint into the glass. "I thought there were more of them," Cyrus muttered.

Dante couldn't tell whether he was disappointed with him or not; the Galactic boss always had the same blank expression across his unmoving face. "I doubt the other two are going to cause any trouble, sir. They seem harmless enough." He remembered the Treecko, in Dante's body nonetheless, shouting something about him being "Lukey Man", and chuckled silently to himself. "Ambitious, but harmless."

"We have the Annuler, at least." Cyrus turned to make his leave. "However, the Treecko is an Annuler, and it's safe to assume that any one of the Crusaders could be an Annuler as well."

"Of course, sir. I'll be cautious of them, then."

"Make sure of it. That will be your final mission." The blue-haired man began his ascent up the stairs and out of the chamber, as Dante began rapping his hand against the yellow glass of the containment chamber.

Almost immediately, the Totodile jumped to its feet, eyes darting around the place, wondering where he was. The Dewott and Pikachu's eyes began to flicker as they heard the worried cries of the Totodile, who seemed persistant on repeatedly shouting, "Where am I? What the heck is going on?!"

"Calm down, Nick," The Dewott replied groggily, pushing himself up with his arms. "It's still early in the morning..." Or so he thought. Gazing about the room, he realised he had been laid out on a surface much more comfortable than Aaron's parents' bed, though the feeling of solid metal beneath his paws instead of a rock-hard mattress was a little unnerving.

Aaron, however, was quickest to become aware of the situation. The first things he saw were the squinted eyes of a Weavile, peering through the glass towards him. At this point, he pushed himself to his feet, and began to make his way over to him, as fast as his heavy legs carried him. "So, you must be Dante."

"Well, there's no fooling you, it seems."

The Pikachu slapped his hands against the glass angrily, gritting his teeth. "What have you done with us?!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, rodent." Upon hearing Dante's slightly muffled words through the glass, Aaron felt a small electric shock emanate through the glass wall and towards his hands, forcing him back suddenly. "You're currently in a state-of-the-art containment chamber, especially designed for aggressive little Annulers such as yourself. If you so much as try to attack the walls, you'll receive a little shock, and it will grow more intense the stronger the attack is."

Dewey and Nick soon joined Aaron's side, as Dewey continued to explain the predicament. "As well as that, if anyone even tries to break you out, you will be falling to your death." He made a gesture with his claw towards the lack of a floor beneath them.

"All this sounds awfully familiar," Nick commented. "Infact, it sounds suspiciously like The Avengers, for some reason."

"You guys are the most unoriginal villains ever," Dewey chimed in.

"You'll be thinking that when you're splattered all over the peak of Mount Coronet, won't you?" Dante snapped, clearly aggravated. "It doesn't matter whether I'm _unoriginal _or not. It'll all be over soon, anyway."

"What do you mean?" The young Pikachu seemed to be even more flared up than before.

This forced a smug smirk out of Dante, who took a step back. "A mere sixty hours and the world will cease to exist. Cyrus has obtained all three of the legendary fairy Pokemon, and is in the process of extracting the jewels from their heads necessary to create the red chain. Then, Dialga and Palkia will be summoned, and all but his ideal world will be no more."

"And you realise you're going to be wiped out, along with every other living being in the universe?!" Aaron suddenly snapped.

"I do."

The three captives gasped and stepped back.

"It's a simple concept. Peace must be imposed upon humanity by a leader, of sorts. For centuries have men attempted to lead, promising such peace, but all their followers have done is bear witness to false promises, sheer _lies._ War began, and war followed. Thus began the cycle. One conflict would be resolved through continual bloodshed, only to be proceeded by yet another war. There has not been a single period in time where there was no conflict, no bloodshed, no fighting."

Clearly passionate about the subject, he thrust his arms outward, embracing his own speech. "However, in less than three days, Cyrus will carry out the single biggest criminal act in the history of mankind, and the result shall be eternal peace! By killing everyone, they shall ascend to the heavens above, and live out the rest of eternity in sheer bliss!"

Every word that Dante let out of his fanged mouth just made Aaron want to charge up a good-old-fashioned Giga Volt Tackle, though the promise of certain death by doing so stopped him. "You're a coward," he muttered through gritted teeth. "You, and Cyrus, and all of Team Galactic. Every single one of you. You think all your problems are going to go away, just like that, huh? Well it doesn't work like that!"

The aggravated Pikachu slammed his paws against the cell walls, wincing through the pain that the electric shock caused, and stared with fierce eyes right at Dante, whose expression remained largely unchanged. "People and Pokemon have worked so hard to get where they are today, and you idiots are just going to take that away from them!"

But Dante just grinned. "Their deaths shall be a reward for all the hard work they have done throughout their existence. Don't you see? This is what many people have been aiming for all their lives, the very _end _of life itself."

Aaron attempted to say something in retaliation, but both Nick and Dewey grabbed him by the arms and pulled him back. "Shouting won't get us anywhere," Dewey said. "Besides, he's clearly too far gone to listen to reasoning."

Dante didn't like that remark too much, sneering at the Dewott in return. "Y'know, I could quite easily switch bodies with one of you right now, start trying to break out, and kill you all."

"Thus killing yourself." Dewey smirked right back.

Dante spun around and made his way towards the door. "I'm done wasting my time here. Have fun counting down your last few hours alive."

The door whooshed shut behind him, leaving the large, empty room in silence, with only the humming of nearby computers to drown it out.

-[oOo]-

When Luke awoke the next morning, the first thing that he noticed was that it was extremely cold. The second thing he noticed was the light was on; stupidly, he looked into it, and it left a little eye-floatie in his field of vision, which really pissed him off. The third thing he noticed – and he was unsure of how he didn't notice this to begin with – was that his body, excluding his head, was entirely immobile on a count of being frozen against the wall.

The fourth, and probably strangest thing he noticed upon waking up that morning, was that Emi sat next to him, small sticks and chopped wood at her feet, and a lit match in hand. "Oh, Luke, you're awake! 'Bout time." She threw the match onto the pile of sticks, and a fire immediately sparked.

"Emi! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Luke shouted, twisting his head about frantically, trying to get free.

"The hair dryer didn't work at all, so I thought a fire would work better. Simple!"

"You don't even have hair!"

"Silly Luke, not for my hair! For melting the ice!"

_Oh, right. The ice._ Despite the serious risk of having an open fire inside a loungeroom, the ice was at the very least starting to melt.

"So..." Emi began twiddling her thumbs. "Where is everybody, anyway? Seems like I missed a pretty crazy night!"

The events of the previous night came back to Luke all at once. Switching bodies with the enemy, Aaron and Dewey being captured, Dewey and Dante fighting... _Wait, how do I remember the two of them fighting? I wasn't here for that..._ He explained the situation to Emi as his body thawed out. It took a few tries but eventually the confused Emolga got the gist of what had happened, and seemed satisfied with Luke's recollection.

It took twenty minutes for the ice to completely thaw, and due to the fact that this is Pokemon, there were absolutely no negative repercussions of being frozen in ice for a whole night. Luke simply stood up and dusted himself off, glancing towards the clock above the TV. "Holy crap on a cracker, it's already midday! Emi, why didn't you wake me up earlier?!"

Emi was flappping her, well, flaps against the fire, not realising she was fanning it instead of putting it out. "Well, I would have, but you were out cold." She suddenly gasped in realisation. "I get it! You were out cold, because you were frozen!"

Luke waved the thought off. "Yeah, yeah, we're running out of time. We need to rescue Aaron in less than sixty hours, and we've already wasted twelve of them sleeping."

"So, what should we do?" Emi was now blasting the flame with a fire extinguisher, somehow managing to use it despite the fact that it was twice the size of her.

"Well, it would take too long to get there on foot," Luke replied, "and for that matter, we don't know where _there_ is."

A muffled cry came from beyond the lounge room window, snapping the Treecko out of his thought-provoked state. "I think I might know!" Both he and Emi turned to the source of the sound, to find a Pikachu peering in, the heart-shaped tail hanging behind it.

Luke immediately rushed to the door, leaped up for the doorknob and pulled it open, revealing not only the female Pikachu, but a Monferno and Marshtomp as well. "Alice?" Luke asked daftly. He figured the mouse Pokemon must have been her, but the other two eluded recognition, despite the fact that they seemed awfully familiar.

The Marshtomp immediately pushed through and pointed a big blue finger at Luke's forehead. "How can you not recognise us?! We've been friends for years!"

"...Dylan? And Dylbert? But..." Luke was overwhelmed with sudden confusion, mostly from trying to figure out how the two had achieved evolution so quickly, but also what they were doing here. "I thought you guys had been written out of the show...er, fanfic. I mean, you were the minor-est of minor characters."

"Well, Vale decided to bring us back!" Dylbert exclaimed, the four of them now standing on the front verandah. "He's been developing our characters so people won't hate us as much anymore! And also, so that we actually contribute to the story."

"Also, he felt really bad about writing out DylbertsGaming and KinkedSpawn's characters when he left nickioli13's character in," Dylan chimed in. "He didn't wanna play favouritism."

"Plus, KinkedSpawn would have a huge whinge and bitch over it," Alice continued.

Luke, from seemingly out of nowhere, pulled out a script and showed it to the others. "I'd like to remind you that we are in the middle of a scene, and we have a script to follow."

"I can't," Dylbert replied, grasping his head in pain. "I can't follow the script. For you see, I'm tripping balls right now!"

"Oh my God, now I'm tripping balls!" Dylan grasped his head suddenly, as if he wanted to join in on the tripping.

"Okay, guys, stop it. No more Code MENT references."

"Seriously," Alice began, "if we go any further, someone might pop out a LittleKuriboh joke. And that's forbidden."

"Nyeh? Who's LittleKuriboh?" Dylbert asked.

"Oh my God, now _I'm _tripping balls." Luke opened the script to Chapter 42, Scene 2, and started his line again, hoping everyone else had the mental capacity to follow his lead. He began by clearing his throat. "Dylan? And Dylbert, too? What are you guys doing here?" The script had been pegged through the front window, though nobody paid it any notice.

"Alice told us you were back, so we thought we'd come for a visit!" Dylbert replied enthusiastically. "Where is everyone, anyway?"

-[oOo]-

"And there they are," Dante explained, his claw pointing towards the containment cell displayed on the monitor. "They didn't even put up a fight. May as well have just walked in there themselves."

The Glameow pushed him out of the way and examined the footage for himself. "Wow, y-you really did do it! And for a new recruit, that's-"

"I may be a new recruit, but don't think I'm just some rookie Grunt." Dante immediately snapped back at him. "Team Galactic weren't my only 'clients'. I've been working for the Pokemon Hunters, and even worked with Team Rocket and Plasma for a while. Espionage, assassination... I've done it all." He held a claw up to the Glameow's neck, causing him to begin to whimper in fear. "I could have you dead right now, Malik, and nobody would notice you gone for days."

"B-b-b-b-but, Dante, sir... Sir? D-d-do I c-c-call you 'sir'? Uh..." Dante lowered his claw, but that didn't stop Malik from shivering. "What if t-t-they figure out that you w-w-were b-b-b-bluffing about the cell falling through t-t-the floor?"

"True, we may not even be in the airship, but they are very easily fooled."

-[]-

Dewey stood in the middle of the chamber, arms crossed. "He's totally bluffing."

-[]-

"And besides, they're more than likely sitting in there waiting for their friends to show up and rescue them. They won't be going anywhere any time soon."

Malik just peered into the monitor, too scared to say anything for or against Dante's plan lest his neck be removed from his body without him ever knowing. Though, it was working; the captives weren't doing a thing, with the Totodile and Dewott talking amongst themselves, and the Pikachu secluding himself from the others on the other side of the cell.

"Shouldn't you be doing something, Malik?"

He immediately jumped upon hearing his voice. "Y-yes! Of course! Right away!" Truth was, he wasn't, but he'd be glad to have rid himself of Dante's presence.

-[oOo]-

"Of course he's been captured," Dylan sighed, slumped against the railing that surrounded the verandah. "And where were you this whole time, Luke...?"

"Talking with Lugia-"

Dylan interrupted him almost immediately. "Of course you were. God damn, you guys can't go a few minutes without being captured!"

"At least we didn't ditch everyone halfway along the journey," Luke remarked, and when Dylan asked what he had said, he was quick to change the conversation. "So, how did you two evolve so quickly, anyway?"

Dylbert gave a little chuckle at the mention of the word 'evolve' as Dylan began to explain. "We had an awesome plan. First, we caught each other in Poke Balls."

"What." Luke didn't even bother asking, instead emitting a very flat statement.

"It gets better! Then, we went to the Solaceon Day Care and admitted ourselves into their care, under each other's names! So, Dylbert put me in day care, then I put Dylbert in day care. When we came out, we were almost ready to evolve!"

Luke heard perfectly clearly what was coming out of Dylan's mouth, but his mind was rephrasing it all, instead sounding like _"Listen to me! I am stupid! All bow down under my inferior intelligents!" _He decided that it was time to leave, anyway. "Emi! Are you ready to go?" He shouted through the front door.

Emi soon appeared before him, a piece of buttered toast dangling from her mouth.

"Close enough. Now, let's go. We need to find the Crusaders."

-[oOo]-

A spiky-haired teen lay sprawled across a deck chair upon a balcony overlooking the sparkling ocean, sipping from the lime milkshake in his hand. He lowered the glass to the table alongside him, shut his eyes, and enjoyed the gentle breeze, the crashing of waves below, the rustling of leaves around him.

All was peaceful.

But then...

"MULATTO BUTTS!"

The sudden blast of noise from his phone caused him to stumble and fall over the deck chair in a comical fashion, as it continued to bellow at him. "BLACK ASS MAMA! WHITE ASS DADDY!" He swiped the phone from the table beside him and answered it bitterly.

"Yes, what is it?"

At first, a small period of silence. Then... "...Vale? Is that you?"

"Oh, Aaron. It's you. What is it?" He slumped back down in his deck chair.

"Um... We're just wondering when you're...coming back. It's total chaos over here..."

Vale simply laughed, reaching for his milkshake. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

"If I had a dollar for every time someone has broken the fourth wall..."

He sighed. "But none of that was in the script."

"There wasn't a script... Luke and Dewey had to write the script to Chapter 42 themselves."

"What?!" He suddenly leaped up from his seat, throwing his milkshake into a nearby pot plant accidentally. "You're supposed to be up to Chapter 56 by now! What the heck is holding yo back?!"

"Well, you're kinda the writer..."

Vale grunted. "Mister Margrove, I thought I made it very clear that Luke and Sam were taking over the writer position."

"Well, I'm going to stop you right there." Vale heard the rustling of paper in the background for a few seconds. "We've got a fourteen-year-old starting fires, Dylan and Dylbert going into day care together, and by the looks of things I'm my usual, mopey self! I mean, I thought we were..." He paused suddenly. "Wait... Did you just call me Mister Margrove?"

"Yeah. And?"

"I didn't know I had a last name."

"Yes, and I suppose there's a lot of other things you don't know about yourself. Did you know you were originally a self-insert?"

"You lied, man!" Aaron suddenly shouted. "I'm calling my lawyer!"

"This was all in the bio, you know!" Vale snapped. "I bet you entirely missed the section where you were Australian! You, and Luke, and Nick as well!"

"You can't be serious!"

"Well, that's how I see you, anyway." Vale breathed a long and heavy sigh. "Look, I'm supposed to be doing animations and stuff this week, but... I suppose I can pop around and see how everyone's doing. Maybe even... write a chapter or two. Just... No legal action. I can't take that."

"Fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to being caotured. And I hope you're bringing some sort of decent plot ideas with you?"

"Need not you... um... need you not..." Vale cleared his throat. "Don't worry. I've got something so brilliant up my sleeve, it'll knock your socks off..."

He hung up, and threw the phone onto the table. Seconds later, a Squirtle appeared beside him, holding in one hand a silver platter with a lime milkshake on it. "That was Luke calling, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, Seems I'll have to return to Sinnoh and start working on Divine Intervention again..." He snatched the glass from the platter, not once looking at the turtle that had selflessly delivered it.

"Can I..."

"No, Elly. You are a minor character, and minor characters are not allowed to return to Divine Intervention. I banish you to my bedroom, where you shall wait for me until I get back."

-[oOo]-

Dewey once again stood in the middle of the chamber, arms crossed. "Totally bluffing."

-[oOo]-

It seemed Luke was in luck. The Crusaders' new airship was still docked in Canalave City, sitting obscurely in a small grass field near the Pokemon Center. As the group of pseudo-friends approached, Rhyder stormed out of a door and along a walkway that lowered towards the ground, all the while shouting to himself.

He caught sight of the group of small Pokemon, though this did little to impact on his mood. "I thought you would have left by now," He began as he set foot onto the ground.

"Well," Luke replied, "we did, but Aaron's kinda been captured..." The Treecko began to shy away from the Crusader leader, afraid of his impending backlashing. "And Dewey...was captured too..."

At first, silence. Rhyder gazed out into the rustling field, seemingly in deep thought, before he began to speak aloud. "Seems my recruits are dropping like flies lately. Vance isn't gonna be too happy..."

Out of curiosity, Luke decided to ask. "Vance?"

"The head of the Unova branch of Crusaders. You see..." He sighed and turned a little, as if embarrassed to tell his tale. "We used to be based in Unova, and Vance's was based here in Sinnoh. There was a lot going on over there, what with the threat of Team Plasma attempting to 'liberate' Pokemon. But..."

"Let me guess," Dylbert interrupted unexpectedly. "Vance saw you and your recruits as too incompetent for the job, so they took over for you and reassigned you down here, where nothing was going on. Sound about right?"

"Err..." Rhyder was lost for words for a brief moment. "How did you know that?"

"Lucky guess. I just wanted some lines so I could help assure my place in the story."

Dylan immediately chimed in, like a huge idiot. "I am a huge idiot!" He said.

"Thank you for the encouraging words of wisdom!" Alice replied hastily, before turning back to Rhyder. "Continue."

"Well..." It took Rhyder a few seconds to recollect his position in the story. "Each of the main regions – Kanto, Johto, Unova, Sinnoh and Hoenn, as well as Orre, but nobody cares about them – has a Crusader branch, and Vance founded the first one here in Sinnoh only ten years ago, so you could say he's pretty much the boss. When he found out how poorly we were doing, and how little action he and his cronies were getting, he jumped on the opportunity."

"And now you're out to redeem yourself, huh?" Luke replied.

Suddenly, Rhyder seemed much perkier than before. "Which is exactly what we're going to do!"

"Okay... And how do you propose we do this?"

Rhyder smiled. "We're going to do it in the most unintelligible way possible that Team Galactic will have no idea what hit them! We're going to storm the place!"

Dylan and Dylbert started to instinctively back away. "I don't think I want to be a part of this plan!" Dylbert shouted.

"You are a huge idiot!" Dylan chimed in.

Luke, however, decided an unintelligent plan would be too unintelligent, thus, he spoke up about it. "Not a bad plan, but I think I have a slightly better one."

-[oOo]-

Kai's webbed feet loosely slapped against the wooden floor, as he anxiously paced his way up and down his treetop hut. He couldn't think straight; for one thing, there was the sacrifice, the statue of the fire-breather his sister had found in the ocean the evening before. This was to be the last sacrifice he and his village would make, and the water deity Jekyll would smile upon them and end their famine.

But, his sister, Naoko, troubled him. She claimed she could hear the statue speak, and when Kai heard her talking to the statue mere hours before, some of the things she said surprised him. If Naoko was to be taken seriously, then Jekyll did not exist, merely a fabrication of generations past. He claimed, supposedly, that there were more like him across the ocean, and that everyone had the bodies of their ancestors – which he called 'Pokemon' – because of an act committed by some evil 'terrorist organisation'.

He clasped his hands together and shut his eyes. "Mother, father, give me guidance. Ever since you passed away and left me in charge, I believe I have begun to lose my faith. Please, give me some sort of sign! Anything that will set me on the path of justness..."

He had not expected his prayer to be answered, let alone by a foreign voice, one that sounded almost husky and attractive. _Hello, Kai._

The Golduck in question spun around, attempting to locate the disembodied voice. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

_Relax, Kai. It's me, Jekyll._

Those five words, dragged out as slowly as possible, seemed to assure him that everything was going to be alright from now on. He dropped to his knees and began to bow to no-one in particular. "O Mighty Savior, I am blessed to be in your presence!"

_Yes, of course. Right. Except, here's the thing. You're not 'in my presence' just yet. Not until you sacrifice that lovely looking Charmeleon statue __for me._

Kai stuttered nervously before he rushed an answer out of his chattering mouth. "Y-y-yes, of course! We shall begin preparations immediately! I would never disobey you, O Mighty-"

_Yes, yes, O Mighty Savior and all that. Listen, how about we drop that facade altogether? It's much too formal for my liking. Just...call me Jekyll. How does that sound?_

"Please! You torture me! I cannot accept this proposal at all!"

_Well, okay, fine. Just don't call me anything. Now, about that Charmeleon statue..."_

Kai didn't quite understand what he was saying, despite the fact that the voice, Jekyll, had already explained it. "The...Charmeleon...statue?"

_Oh, right. I forgot you guys are a bunch of hicks. _As expected, Kai was uneducated on most of the terms Jekyll spoke of. _The 'fire-breather' statue. I insist you sacrifice this statue as soon as possible. I feel the energy residing in it would be more than enough to bring me back to life, and then...I'll grant all your deepest desires, yadayadayada._

"Of course! We shall begin preperations immediately!" Kai replied enthusiastically.

_You already said that. Anyway, I'll have to leave for now. Just make sure you kill...er, sacrifice him right proper, got it?_

"Yes! As you wish!" If he had been lacking any faith before, one never would have guessed now as he charged out of his hut to find Naoko and the statue.

-[oOo]-

**Vale: This took six months to write.**

**No, seriously. The content in this chapter is so half-assed that it took me six months to think of it. Because every idea that pops into my head at first is genius, I have to wait for all the crappy ones to come in. **

**Also, making sense is my piece da resistance, as no-one says.**

**Let's move on before I run myself into a rut. Review time! Because I know how much everybody missed this.**

Tanon **proves, as ever, that your review can never be too long. I'm getting close to blocking ****you, seeing as FANFICTION IS NOT IMPORTANT TO YOU ANYMORE ANYWAY.**

**It's a void. Is that alright with you? Or else Luke would walk ten metres in any direction and bring down the set, thus ruining the illusion.**

**Seriously? You've never felt the cold night wind SMACK against your face? **

**Future chapters will explain why that flashback sucks.**

**...That's kinda everything worth replying to here. Thanks to **Mewtastic, SamPD2(?), Guest **(I get the feeling this review is somewhat sarcastic)**, GameMastrX, Pichufan **(still holds the title for world's cutest avatar)**, markzilla6895 **(No, I think Team Galactic was responsible for that... or was he?! But they probably were.)** and Nevermore and forever gone **for the reviews. Much oblidged. Keep 'em coming, and I'll keep the chapters coming! Actually they'll come regardless of what you think.**

**So, the six month gap thing. Yeah, I kinda had to ditch this for a while. Between getting a job, studying and the usual crap people use as an excuse, I simply didn't have much time for Divine Intervention at all. I'm back on track now, however, even doing more stuff other than fanfiction for you guys. There's either a Divine Intervention comic or flash animation coming in the near future, ****so stay tuned!**

**As for this chapter, there was going to be a rather surprising plot twist at the end but it would have dragged the chapter long past my usual 5000 word length, and totally contradicted the not-very-serious nature of the chapter as a whole. So, next chapter, be prepared...**

**See you guys in a week or two.**

**-Vale**

-[oOo]-

Dewey, for a third time, stood arms crossed. "Totally bluffing."


	43. Clarion Call

**-[CHAPTER 43]-**

"...And you say that it very well could be in Veilstone City?" Rhyder asked.

Alice stuttered a little before she answered. "Y-yes... My parents own a holiday house nearby, so we've been to Veilstone often, and..." She felt uneasy, standing in the bridge of the SAA Milk Lizard. The beeping of computers around her, the intimidating stare of the Rhyperior that interrogated her – all this tended to make her a little nervous. Most of all, though, was the situation that she was now getting herself involved with. These Crusaders were planning on going head-to-head with Team Galactic, and she felt like she was playing a fairly large role, pointing out the possible location of their headquarters.

"That's quite enough. With your confirmation, and the various leads I've picked up on over time, I believe that is exactly where the Galactics are situated. It's very likely that they are holding Aaron and Sam captive as well."

It took a while for Alice to realise that the Sam that Rhyder had mentioned must have been Dewey, the Dewott who was with Aaron the previous night. "...And Nick, right? Didn't he get captured, too?"

Rhyder tilted his head. "Nick? I don't remember no Nick."

"It's okay, no-one really does."

"Right. Well, I'll take you back to your room for now, and you can discuss this with your friends for now. I'll come up with a plan, and call everyone to the mess hall when I do." He turned away and started towards his chair, before he spun around again. "Incidentally... What are you going to do now?" He eyed the young Pikachu curiously.

She hadn't thought that far... What was she going to do?

-[oOo]-

Dewey sighed, slumped against the opaque yellow wall that contained him. "There's nothing we can do, at least not right now. We just have to hope for the best and wait for someone from the Crusaders to turn up, I guess."

Aaron was slumped down next to him, his snarled nose showing his sheer irritation. "I know, I know, but..." He suddenly squeezed his eyes shut and dipped his head. "Damn, I hate being so helpless!"

"We just have to stay optimistic. Someone will come for us, I'm sure of it!" Dewey replied, trying to be as cheerful as possible despite how frustrated and hopeless he was also starting to feel.

What he expected from Aaron was an answer back; instead he just slid out onto the floor, sprawling his arms and legs out, trying to stretch the stress out of his system. He gave out a sigh before he opened his eyes again, slightly deterred by the large blue maw that now presented itself above him. "At least you're not crying this time..."

"Shut it." He thrust his fist into said blue maw, causing it to jump back and leap about in pain.

Dewey eyed him, though he didn't notice, instead focused on the pain that shot through his head. "Come on, Nick. Is that really necessary right now?"

"H-hey, I'm just saying!" He stammered, waving his arms left and right. "Aaron not having a spat is as rare as an intelligent southerner."

Dewey searched for a witty remark, trying to ignore his rather racist comment. "Snap your jaw shut or I'll snap it off." He turned to Aaron, still sprawled out across the hard floor. "Hey, while we're stuck in here, mind if I ask you something?"

Aaron seemed to have settled down enough to reply with a civilised, non-aggrovated response. "Sure..."

"Last night, Luke told me how the two of you met... Y'know, the whole 'you were drowning so Luke heroically dived in and saved you and you became best buds' thing. That's, uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "That's not true, is it?"

Aaron gave a small chuckle, seemingly having forgotten that he was ever angry to begin with. "Don't believe what Luke says. He did dive in to rescue me, but the Octillery latched onto his leg and pulled him under. Just as well my father was there."

"And the part where you two-"

Aaron jumped to his feet, shocking Dewey and bringing him to attention. "There was no kissing involved! Damnit, why does he even tell that part?" It took only a few seconds to get him riled up again. "He makes it seem like we're in some sort of relationship! I mean, what's the deal with..." He stopped abruptly, his eyes wandering, his train of thought veering away from the conversation.

Dewey and Nick stared at him in almost the same fashion. "You okay, Azz?" Nick replied.

As if right on cue, Aaron stomped his foot on the ground and cursed in frustration. "Damnit, it just keeps getting worse!"

"What do you mean?

-[oOo]-

Luke sighed as the door whizzed open; presented before him was room 382, the room that he, Aaron and the others had stayed in when they were last on the Milk Lizard. Not much had changed since then, however. The room remained a dull grey, with an unkept bunk bed on the right side and a table with three chairs on the other – though at the very least, the Galactic-promoting posters had been removed from both walls.. Dylbert and Dylan were seated at the table, while Boomer, the Sandslash, and Freya, the Espeon, resided near the beds, with Emi jumping up and down restlessly near them. The window in the middle allowed the early morning light to shine through, illuminating a female Pikachu in an almost angel-like glow in the middle of the room.

_Heh. Shame she's already taken... I think... _"Hey, Alice. How'd it go?"

The sound of Luke's voice seemed to snap her out of a thought-induced daze, her absent look at first worrying the gecko Pokemon staring at her. "Oh, right! Um... I told Rhyder what I knew, and, well... We'll just go from there, so he says."

"Okay... So, what are you going to do?" Luke, by this time, had propped himself up against the wall near the window, folding his arms. At first, he turned his head slightly to avoid getting sunlight in his eyes, but the light was rapidly fading anyway. "We'll be heading off soon, no doubt, so I guess you'll be-"

"-Coming with you?"

Luke was caught completely off guard by this, evident by the futile attempt to form whole, intelligible words. When he found the ability to speak again, the words spurted out of his mouth as quickly as the sunlight outside was fading. "Y-you're not serious, are you?!" He stammered, stepping towards Alice suddenly. "We're going off to fight Team Galactic, one of the most dangerous crime syndicates in the world! It's not like you can just tag along for the fun of it!" He turned away, frustrated with Alice's rash decision. "And what exactly is this going to prove, anyway!?"

"I'm not trying to prove anything!" Alice suddenly snapped, toning her voice down when she noticed everyone else was giving her strange looks. "...I'm not trying to prove anything. I...just want to see Aaron again..."

Luke cringed at the very mention of his name; the fact that she was mentioning it just made it worse for him. In fact, the whole room – save for a raunchy conversation between Dylan and Dylbert – fell silent, and all eyes were fixed on the Pikachu and the Treecko. The mere mention of Aaron's name seemed to bring about an almost depressive state amongst them.

"It was only a few days ago that we actually started even talking to each other..." Alice began, lowering her eyes to the floor. "We've only just met, and now..."

-[oOo]-

Nick stared at the disheartened Pikachu pacing down the middle of the containment cell. "What are you going on about this time?"

Aaron began to explain, not once bothering to stop in his uneasy march. "There's always been something about Luke. He's always walking in the shadow of someone, but the second he gets the opportunity to do something to stand out, to make himself look good, he'll take it without a single thought."

But Dewey and Nick just seemed confused, not quite getting what Aaron was trying to say. "Where are you getting at?" Dewey asked, now quite curious.

-[oOo]-

"Even if that's the case, that's no reason to put yourself in harm's way." Luke continued, still looking away from her. "The possibility of any of us being badly injured, or even killed for that matter-"

"Luke, I don't care about any of-"

"Alice, this really isn't the time for us to be babysitting!" He spun around, and Alice could see the determination in his eyes spread wide. "This is a life-and-death situation, with the entire universe hanging in the balance! We can't afford to just-"

"Babysitting? Hey, I'm sixteen, too, you know!" It seemed Alice had flared up too, pouting as the two continued to shout at each other. "And I don't care what you say, I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not!"

Luke scrunched his face up as he bellowed. "You just don't seem to-"

-[oOo]-

"-get it, do you, Nick?" Aaron suddenly shouted, the predicament infuriating him to near boiling point. "That scene on top of the airship, when he rescued Emi! Don't you remember?"

"Well, actually," Nick replied, shying away. "I wasn't there for that. I was busy being kidnapped."

"...Right. Sorry." Aaron calmed himself a bit, breathing in and out and spreading his arms out. "There was a sudden gust of wind that almost took Emi with it, and when Luke tried to rescue her, he just kinda...went..." Thinking best of how to explain it, he zoomed a flat paw past Nick's muzzle. "Like that."

"So, again, what does that have to do with anything?"

-[oOo]-

"I've made my mind up!" Alice interrupted Luke before he could even get his point across, disregarding everything he had said before. "I want to see Aaron one last time before he dies!"

At that very moment, something snapped in the back of Luke's mind; he turned away again, and shut his eyes for a moment.

"Please don't talk like that."

Alice peered over his shoulder, still somewhat angry. "What do you mean?"

Luke took a long breath of air and released it slowly through his nostrils, as he gripped his forehead with his stubby left hand. "I don't ever want you to talk like that again."

Alice was about ready to take that as a threat, as made obvious by her scowling face and gritting teeth, but something told her that statement was more heartfelt and sincere. At that moment, she heard something hit the window, and when she turned to look, small droplets of water had clung to it, obscuring her vision of the now grey sky outside.

Luke turned around only slightly, just enough to catch a glimpse of Alice staring at him, eagerly awaiting a response. "You two still have each other. You both have something to live for. I can't have him kicking the bucket just yet. It's just not right."

-[oOo]-

"He kinda dismissed it at first, hoping I would just forget about it, but you don't forget a thing like super speed, do you?" Aaron had stopped pacing around by now, instead trying to diagnose the situation. "I think he's trying to hide the fact that he's an Annuler."

This was enough for Dewey to pull himself to his feet. "That's an awfully astute observation you have there!"

"And I can back it up! It's only a theory, though, but I think-"

"Just get on with it!" Nick cried.

"I'm an Annuler, right?" Aaron's obvious statement left the other two to groan in response. "Okay, yeah, That's obvious. But I'm also able to manipulate electricity so that I can surround myself with it and gain the ability to fly around in it, which I call the Giga Volt Tackle. Then you have Dante, who claims he's an Annuler, and it seems he can switch bodies, if what you tell me is correct." He eyed Dewey momentarily, before continuing. "We thought Luke was an Annuler, and he seems to be able to run at abnormal speeds."

"So what you're getting at..." Nick replied, "...is that Annulers have some kind of unique secondary ability, right?"

"Right! You're catching on!" Aaron exclaimed. "Again, it's only a theory, but I think it's a good enough theory to determine that Luke is in fact an Annuler himself."

When the cell fell silent, Aaron assumed the two of them still hadn't quite caught on. _I thought Dewey would have been onto it quick smart, but I guess not..._

"So he has the Annulment," Dewey quizzed, arms folded and head leaned to the side. "Where does that leave us?"

"That leaves us with a small problem."

-[oOo]-

Alice appreciated what Luke was saying, but couldn't quite relate. "But it can't be helped, right? The second he erases Cyrus, he'll disappear too...right?"

"That is what's supposed to happen, but..." Luke's breathing was growing heavier by the second, as the rain outside rattled against the glass, distracting him for only a moment. He paid no attention to the pairs of eyes that gazed upon him as he fidgeted around uneasily on the spot, his own eyes nervously darting from side to side. After a few suspenseful moments, Luke opened his mouth, but only stuttered "I's" and "um's" managed to escape.

"Luke, what?" Alice asked, inching closer. "What is it you're trying to say?"

It took a while, but he managed to find the words he was looking for, speaking as fast as possible so he couldn't lose them again. "I'm an Annuler, and it's about time I put my abilities to use!"

"Luke, wait..." Alice cried, but before she could continue, Luke interrupted her.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but I'm taking Aaron's place! I am going to annul Cyrus!"

Even Dylan and Dylbert had been pulled to attention at Luke's revelation, as everyone suddenly closed in on him, their collective shouting doing nothing to phase him. "Cyrus is close to destroying the world, and we're leaving it up to a silly little Pikachu who's locked away in a cage somewhere! If that's how it's supposed to be, then we may as well just surrender ourselves to the Galactics now and be done with it!"

"Wait, Lukey, you can't go off and kill yourself like that!" Emi suddenly barged through the small crowd and presented herself before him, her pleading stance and puppy dog eyes trying to break through to him.

"Luke, you're being an idiot!" Dylan barked, both he and Dylbert scowling at him. "All we have to do is get in there and rescue him, right? You don't have to sacrifice yourself-"

"And what if we can't rescue him?!" Luke snapped, causing the group to step back. "We can't waste our time going to rescue him yet! First and foremost, we need to focus on stopping Cyrus! Besides..." He calmed his voice. "That's not the only reason why I'm doing this."

The room fell into a suspenseful silence again, as Luke began to explain. "You might just think I'm doing this to steal the spotlight, to be a hero. Truth is..." He stopped for a moment and turned to Alice, whom he had realised had been silent the whole time. "The poor kid... He was simply told that he would have to chase down Cyrus and take him out. He never had a choice. But he deserves to keep on living... He's bright, he's awesome at Pokemon battling..." He eyed Alice a second time. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I saw a Charizard flying away from Aaron's house in the downpour yesterday. Was that..."

Alice nodded. "His father. That's what I wanted to talk to Aaron about tonight, at Carvanha Cove."

"Another good reason why he shouldn't have to go through with this!" Luke pounded his fist into the palm of his opposite hand. "The poor kid's only just started his life out and now it's gonna be cut short? I can't just sit here and let that happen!"

"Don't Pikachu have short life expec-" Dylbert began, but was interrupted by Dylan smacking him in the mouth.

When the room fell silent once again, Alice decided to break the ice. "Luke, you don't have to do this..." Her voice was soft and sincere.

"Don't worry about it. I'll bring Aaron back for you, and everything will be fine."

"Don't think I'm not coming with you now," Alice replied, somewhat more chirpy than she was before. "I know how to defend myself, anyway! I mean, I've got a pretty mean Electro Ball..."

Before Luke could protest, a voice boomed from the doorway. When everyone turned to look, they were treated to the rather comical appearance of Rhyder trying to fit through the door, only to give up before he got his arm inside. "I assume there's been a change of plans, then?"

Both Luke and Alice nodded.

"Alright. There'll be a briefing in the mess hall in about fifteen minutes, so I expect everyone to be there, got it?" With that, he removed his arm from the doorway and continued down the hall. The others followed him out, most of them turning their head back and capturing a glimpse of their new Annuler. A minute passed, and only Luke and Alice remained.

Alice began to make her way towards the door in an effort to leave, but turned back to Luke at the last moment. "There has to be more to it than that, right?"

This piqued Luke's interest, as he stared out the window, past the thousands of droplets and into the dark grey clouds that hid the morning sun. He sighed. "Not really. When Aaron got upset about the whole Annuler thing, I told him that I'd go through with it easily if I had the ability to myself." He turned to Alice slowly. "I guess that backfired on-"

He was interrupted by a sudden constriction around his waist; Alice had latched her arms around him, shaking her head all the while. "Thank you, Luke! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You..." Luke heard Alice sniffle, though it sounded like she was trying to hide it. "You have no idea how much this means to me...!"

Luke wasn't necessarily at a loss for words, but the Pikachu squeezing the organs out of his stomach was preventing him from doing anything except wheezing and coughing. Impulsively, he shoved her away and attempted to catch the air that she had squeezed out of him. "Really, it's okay... Just don't do that again..."

"Payback for calling me a baby," Alice pouted.

Luke let out a small chuckle as he made his way towards the door. "I'll forgive you this time, if you promise me one more thing." When Alice eyed him curiously, Luke replied in a deep, sincere tone; "Don't ever let him out of your sight, got it?"

"What do you mean?"

"He tends to be a bit impulsive at times. If you don't keep an eye on him, he could be gone in the blink of an eye..." He turned for the door. "Remember, he still has the Annulment. He can still use it on somebody if he has to."

-[oOo]-

Dewey and Nick both gave Aaron a perplexed look. "I'm not quite sure how that's a problem," Nick replied. "So long as-"

"No, it's not a problem for anyone else," Aaron began to elaborate, cutting Nick off promptly in the process, "but that's not the point. If I know him, and I do, he's gonna chase after Cyrus himself and throw his life away for the sake of it!" He breathed heavily through gritted teeth. "I just can't let him do that!"

Dewey opened his mouth to speak, but again Aaron was ready to steal the conversation. "Because Luke has something to live for. He still has a family, and possible careers lined up if he fails as a Pokemon Trainer, as well. But...what do I have...?"

Usually, Dewey would have something to say in a situation like this, but for a change he had been left with nothing. He wanted to reply, but nothing came to mind, which riled him up somewhat when Nick gave an answer himself. "What about Alice?"

The Pikachu's ears perked up.

"I'm not saying I approve of Luke doing this in your place, but you still have Alice, right? If you die, you'd be leaving her behind."

Dewey saw an opportunity to redeem himself. "I'm not sure where your relationship stands, but you two haven't known each other for very long, by the sounds of things. You're only just starting out with her, and-" He immediately stopped himself when he saw Aaron had turned away. "I didn't say something stupid, did I?"

"No, Dewey," Aaron replied in a soft but frustrated tone. "I know Alice and I just met, but I have to get my priorities straight. And..." There was a long pause before Aaron spoke again, his voice sincere. "...I don't want to lose anybody again..."

For a few seconds, no one spoke or did anything, as Aaron placed his hands against the glass wall of their confinement and leaned against it. He ignored the tiny electrical shock he received as punishment for touching it, interested only in thoughts of his friends, his life, his mother and father...

When he felt something grasp his shoulder softly, he broke out of his saddened trance and glanced to his side; Nick had placed his hand on his shoulder, and shakily smiled at him. "Whatever you decide to do, we're with you 'til the end, got it?" Dewey appeared alongside him, giving off a confident aura with the smirk he presented them.

Aaron couldn't help but to smile right back.

-[oOo]-

Before Luke could enter the mess hall, he witnessed a Hitmonchan rush out the door, almost knocking him out with an accidental swing of the ladder he carried. Trying his best to ignore and forget the incident, he pushed the heavy door open with all the strength he could muster, and jumped through before it could close on him again. He sighed in relief. "This place is a death trap..."

He took a moment to take in the surroundings. Like the room he stayed in, the mess hall was not much to look at. Silver walls surrounded the place, with tables and chairs stacked on top of each other at the back of the room. A large window presented itself before him, stretching almost across the entirety of the wall, showcasing the gloomy morning weather beyond it. In the middle, a rabble of Pokemon were situated, perhaps a hundred of them, chatting amongst themselves loudly, and from what Luke could hear, it was entirely off-topic. He turned to his left towards the front of the room, where he saw a stage with a podium in the middle. Rhyder tpwered over the podium, shuffling pieces of paper atop it while he conversed quietly with Freya, Sumiye and Garth. This all seemed to be normal, but what caught Luke off guard was the large red banner that hung across the ceiling, with the words "CRUSADER TALENT SHOW" sprawled across it in bold white.

Luke had mixed emotions about this, somewhere between curious and furious. He marched up onto the stage and towards Rhyder, who by now had noticed the presence of a small lizard below. "So, correct me if I'm wrong, but this isn't the time for a talent show, is it?"

Rhyder rubbed the back of his stiff neck. "We're just, uh..." He stopped himself short; if Luke found out that they had been planning a talent show for some time, he didn't know what would happen. "It's, uh...for another time. Regardless, what can I do you for?"

"Well, I have a favour to ask." He jumped up onto Rhyder's shoulder and whispered into his ear, the recipient nodding all the while. Luke leaped off his shoulder after a moment. "Think you could do that for me?"

"Well, I'm usually the one handin' out orders, but I'll forgive you this time. Now, stay right here with me. I'm about to get this show started." He turned to the others and motioned with his hand for them to join the commoners below, while Luke stood to attention alongside the towering Rhyperior.

He leaned down and gave the microphone on the podium a little tap. "Hello? Can everybody hear me?"

No response.

"It's tie to get down to business, so everyone needs to be quiet, so..."

Still, no one paid him any mind, instead too preoccupied with their own discussions.

"Everybody, SHUT THE [expletive] UP!"

Every single Pokemon in the room turned their attention to a fuming Rhyder, who quickly tried to calm himself down. He heard someone in the audience, way in the back, mutter "Ooh, he said 'hell'..." so he gave that particular individual a death stare to assert his authority.

"Right. Now that I have your undivided-" He heard a bout of flatulence from within the crowd, followed by a few giggles, and sighed. "Now that I have your _undivided attention_, let's move things along. We don't exactly have a lot of time here."

He turned towards Luke, who still stood rigidly alongside him. "According to this guy right here, we have less than sixty hours before the world pretty much disappears into thin air...which doesn't really make sense...but you get the idea. So we, as Crusaders, are obligated to take action immediately! We have managed to pinpoint the Galactic's headquarters to a building in Veilstone City, which is where we believe Cyrus is currently holed up. Unfortunately, the SAA Through The Fire and Flames isn't the fastest thing around, so-"

"Wait," Luke interrupted. "I thought it was the SAA Milk Lizard?"

"Nobody got the reference, so we dumped that crappy name," Rhyder replied. "Besides, Through The Fire and Flames suits it much better, don't you think?"

Luke groaned, as Rhyder returned to the original topic. "This old rig ain't too fast, so it may take us a day to actually get there, maybe even longer. By the time we arrive, we'll need to work quickly." He hinted towards the puny Treecko that stood alongside him. "So, first port of call – this is your new Annuler, Luke." This sparked some conversation between the Crusaders, who all gradually settled down when they noticed Rhyder staring at them. "Certain circuimstances have led to the other kid, Adam, or Keith, or something, being captured by the Galactics themselves, so we will now be relying on Liam-"

"Luke."

"-Luke to finish the job. However, I'm going to go ahead and assume that he's not the best fighter around here, so I'll be assigning Bureka and Cha-" He stopped himself short, realising his mistake. "Right. Dead. Okay, Bureka and Ta-" Again, he stopped, his eyes darting around the hall in search of someone. "Dang it! Everybody's off on missions... Alright..." He sighed, and turned his eyes toward the Excadrill and Sandslash at the front. "Bureka and Boomer. You'll be accompanying Lucas here while he locates Cyrus, and takes him out!"

Bureka attempted a fist pump, but was disappointed with his lack of fingers. "Leave it to us!"

"You ain't gotta worry about a thing!" Boomer chimed in enthusiastically. "We're goin' old school on this mo-fo!"

Rhyder cleared his throat. "Garth. On special request, you will be accompanying young Amy to locate the rodent."

He heard a feminine voice call out across the hall; "It's Alice!"

"The rest of you will be sorted into individual teams and assigned positions within the operation. Some of you will be inside the headquarters, attempting to locate the stolen Pokemon, while others will be providing distractions. There'll be more details later on, at each team's individual briefing session."

Rhyder was about to conclude the brief briefing, when he felt a small finger tapping against his right leg. "Oh, and if Erin-"

"Aaron!"

"-Erin is released before the operation has concluded, then everyone must do all they can to prevent him from getting anywhere near Cyrus. I repeat. Do not let Erin near Cyrus. Is everyone clear?"

Rhyder accepted the silence as an indication of approval. "Excellent. We will finalise plans immediately and begin preperation. Dismissed!"

The Pokemon below continued to converse amongst themselves as they bunched up and tried to squeeze through the exit as awkwardly as possible. It wasn't long before Rhyder followed suit; before he did, he turned back to Luke, who stood near the podium, arms crossed. "You sure you know what you're getting into, kid?"

The Treecko nodded. This was enough of an answer for Rhyder, as he took his leave. Only Luke remained in the hall, arms still crossed, and lost deep in thought. He paid no attention to the noise of raindrops splattering against the window, nor the chatter of the Crusaders outside the hall, instead thinking to himself, nothing more.

_I'll just have to accept it. I'm never gonna see him again, but it's for the best, right?_ The thought made him shudder. _Damnit, what _am_ I getting myself into?_

-[oOo]-

**Vale: ***panting* Finally finished! Sorry if this isn't neeeearly as humorous as other chapters, but it was a bit hard in this context...

First, reviews. **Mewtastic**, as ever, leaves a rather random review, and I reply in alliteration. I think. Anyway, I have thousands of fourth walls! They're not so expensive down here in 'Straya.

Thanks also to new friend/fan/reader **Cheese Nachos Supreme** for his review! Your face is too good for my fists, as it would seem.

Hm. That's it? Dang! Ah well. Anyway, check out my deviantART page for some news and stuff (I need help making a hat with Raichu ears! Details at aforementioned place) and – OOH I ALMOST FORGOT! I totally started a Spyro Let's Play! It's so weird. There's a snippet of DylbertsGaming and I playing a level from the third world already on my YouTube account, with the rest of it coming soon. Go check it out if you have the time. You'll even get to hear my slightly disorienting and probably dysexlic voice! (I know what I did)

And props to whoever can guess why I called this chapter "Clarion Call".

Until next time, peace out, y'all!

-Vale


	44. Hope?

-[CHAPTER 44]-

The door whooshed open, and the sound of earth-shattering footsteps followed Rhyder into the hangar, immediately heading for the Espeon perched elegantly atop the captain's chair in the middle of the room. "Anything, Freya?" Rhyder blurted, a little breathless.

But Freya only frowned in response. "I don't know... For some reason, I can't contact him at all...Uh...Wait..." She squeezed her eyes shut suddenly, concentrating her hardest on something. Rhyder, being the slightly immature adult that he is, imagined she was going potty at the time, and stopped himself from chuckling as Freya returned a response. "Yes, got it! I have him right here! I'll just establish a mental link between you two, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, enough of the technical mumbo jumbo, just get on with it!" Rhyder demanded.

"Right. Try not to move around too much, it might disrupt the connection." Freya sealed her eyes shut again, concentrating even harder before. Rhyder imagined that because it had only been two weeks since they had become Pokemon, she would have still been having some difficulties with her extrasensory abilities.

In the midst of the thought, a voice suddenly boomed in his head, almost like a teenager on the later end of the age spectrum. "You called, sir?"

Rhyder sighed mentally. "Don't call me 'sir', Talon, it's too formal. And, where the heck are you guys, anyway? You're supposed to be back here by now!"

"Well, I-"

"That mission shouldn't have taken this long, am I right? It was just a simple 'go beat up this guy before he beats up anyone else' mission, right?"

"Sir, it's not like-"

"While you've been gone, Team Galactic has managed to capture all three of the legendary fairies, and we're only two-and-a-half days away from seeing our whole world implode on itself, or something! And where are you while all this is happening?!" He stomped his foot on the ground, and surprisingly, he heard a bit of static in his mind.

Talon's voice came out a little muffled. "We really are sorry, sir, but we ran into a slight detour along the way, which I think you'll find rather-"

"It's not important right now! We need you back here, ASAP!"

He heard a muffled sigh from the other end. "Forgive me for speaking out of line, sir, but I think you need to stop being so dependant on certain Crusaders. You need to think of the Crusader unit as a whole, for a change. You could achieve so much more if you thought of everyone, and how their strengths and weaknesses could play a role in the operation."

"Oh, thanks, mom," Rhyder replied in a sarcastic tone. "And don't worry, I've been brushing my teeth and changing my size 15XL underwear everyday, just for you!"

He heard another sigh. "I trust that you can do this one without me. Besides, what I've found sort of takes priority here."

"Whatever it is doesn't take priority over-" Rhyder stopped himself suddenly when he heard the sound of harsh static ring in his head. He gripped it in pain and began to cry out. "What the heck?!"

"Talon seems to have cut us off, sir..." Freya replied sympathetically.

"Again, with the 'sir' thing..." The static noise soon departed from his head, and a sense of relief went along with the constant high-pitched ringing that still lingered inside. He cleared his throat. "Fine. He doesn't want to help? He is totally getting demoted!" He barely noticed Freya giving him an odd stare as he made his way towards the Gallade sitting at one of the computers. "Garth, status update, pronto."

Garth returned a casual shrug and a slurred "I don't know..."

Rhyder took a peek at his screen, and groaned at what he saw. "Seriously? YouTube? At a time like this?!"

"Now, hang on..." Garth turned back to the computer and began to scroll through the page. "It's valeforXD's channel! He's got some let's plays and stuff! You should see this one where he plays Trials Evolution with DylbertsGaming! It's so hilarious!"

"You know what else is hilarious? My foot up your ass." Rhyder leaned forward and bent his leg back...

"Alright! Alright! Have mercy! I'll get right on it!" The incomprehensible sounds sounds that came from the video were soon cut out, and Garth maximised the "Radar/GPS" window from the taskbar. "By the looks of things, sir... this little green arrow is us, and all these squiggly lines are mountains and stuff..."

"Excellent! You're making progress!" Rhyder cried sarcastically. "Now, let's put two and two together and tell me where we are, exactly!"

"Well, if you were more specific, I would have told you to begin with! Someone's got their panties in a twist." He took another glance at the mostly green monitor. "Looks like we're a little north of Jubilife City."

This seemed to frustrate the Crusader leader, who stomped away in, well, frustration, believe it or not. "At this rate, by the time we get there we won't even exist!"

Garth stared intently at him, as if he was listening, but at first gave no reply when the conversation fell flat. Then, when he opened his mouth... "Sir..." He corrected himself before Rhyder could notice. "Eh... _Rhyder... _You really shouldn't be so hard on Talon. You know he's going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment."

Rhyder managed a grunt and a snort as he returned his posterior to his chair (Freya, who was perched on it, quickly dived away before she died), which creaked under his sheer weight. He shifted himself around so that his tail swung over the armrest, and crossed his claws. Garth stared him down for a response, and his wish was granted, to a degree. "You young 'uns are all little pansies, worryin' about everyone's feelings and bein' all emo, and..." He stopped in realisation. "This is not the time to be worrying about such trivial matters!"

The Gallade continued to eye him, confused about the sudden change in speech pattern, but nevertheless shrugged it off, swivelling his chair back towards the computer screen. "Another twenty-four hours until we reach Veilstone, at least, Sir-" He stopped short again. "-Rhyder. Sorry."

The 'sir' in question began twiddling his claws in contemplation, as Garth continued. "That should give us approximately thirty hours before the poo hits the fan."

"Good. Now we assign the lesser Crusaders to our usual squadrons, and inform them of the plan-slash-operation-slash-whatever. We've got one group accompanying Lucian in his search for Cyrus, one group helping Allison find his wuss of a boyfriend, one group finding the big Pokemon stash, and one large group providing a distraction for the smaller groups to do their thing." He smirked. "Not the most convoluted plan in existence, but we were never one for complex plans, were we, boys?"

Heads turned away from the numerous other computers in the room, all with nods and chants of approval, most notably ""Hell yeah!" and "Yes, captain!", the formality of which Rhyder didn't approve of immediately, but nonetheless appreciated the thought.

-[oOo]-

_SWISH!_

Dewey's scalchop made an unnatural clang with Aaron's tail as the two collided with each other, the rebound of the impact sending the both of them sliding towards opposite sides of their containment area. The combat-trained Dewott readied himself into a stance, crossing his arms in front of him and flourishing his weapons. Aaron, on the other hand, fell to his hands and knees almost as soon as he made contact with the ground, his fur damp with sweat.

Meanwhile, Nick stood to the side, blankly observing as they had exchanged attacks. "Is this stupid training session over yet?" He moaned, his arms drooping at his sides.

"Patience, Nicholas," Dewey replied, his voice taking the guise of a wise old samurai master. "If there is no wind, there are no waves." He lowered his shells slightly.

"Right, proverbs. Well, maybe you should draw the limbs only after you've finished drawing the snake."

Aaron stood up, wiping beads of sweat from his face, and began to question the two water-types. "What are you guys even-" Before he could finish, Dewey charged at him again, this time surrounded in a veil of water. The mouse dived out of the way only a split-second before he was taken out by the Aqua Jet attack. "Goddamnit! Would you guys just let up a bit? I barely have the time to-"

His voice faded into a cry of pain as he felt an object ram into his side at high speed, lifting him a few feet into the air before face-planting into the ground only a few inches away from the electrified wall of the cell.

Nick stood over him, dusting his hands off. "You okay down there, Azz?"

With his mouth making contact with the cold, hard floor, Aaron's response was a little muffled. "If I don't get to annul Cyrus, I'm annulling you, Nick."

"Not before you fall victim to another of my awesome head-butts!" Nick cried excitedly.

Dewey gave his scalchops a spin in his paws before he re-attached them to his sides. "There's definitely not a lack of power. In fact, I'd say there's an over-abundance." He continued to critique as Aaron pulled his face from the ground and sat up. "The problem is you lack direction, finesse, strategy. If your enemies weren't as intelligent and cunning as they are, you'd be able to get away with that."

Aaron groggily pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself off, as Dewey continued. "Unfortunately, this is the Galactic boss we're talking about. And when you're going up against him with little-to-no combat experience whatsoever, you'd forgive me if I say I'm fearing for my life right now."

_Forgive? No. Feel insulted? ...A little bit._

"Of course, that's why I suggested this little exercise instead of just sitting on our asses and waiting for our impending rescue. As I underwent training, there was one saying that always stuck to me; 'Be afraid not of growing slowly...'"

In an instant, Dewey had appeared before Aaron, forming a fist and thrusting it toward the dumbfounded rodent's face. Aaron reacted quickly enough to grab the incoming fist with both his paws, and felt the slightest bit proud of himself for doing so.

The feeling was short lived, though, when he noticed the smirk Dewey had suddenly sprouted. He swiped his foot swiftly along the ground, striking Aaron's own leg and forcing him down to the ground again, allowing Dewey to thrust his foot onto his chest and pin him down. He drew a scalchop with his left hand, and pointed it at him. "'...Be afraid of standing still.'"

"Ah, great. More proverbs. Well, I've got one for you." Aaron was struggling under the weight of Dewey's foot, trying all the while to push it off. "You ever heard of 'get your foot off of me before I snap your leg in half?!"

"No, I-" Aaron let a loose a small electrical discharge, forcing Dewey's foot off of his chest. "Man, that was a low blow!"

"You tripping me was a low blow!" Aaron replied, leaping to his feet once more.

"I know that, but what I'm trying to do is prepare you for the unexpected." Dewey scratched the side of his leg in agony, the effect of the shock still lingering. "Besides, you have an advantage! Don't go shocking me like that!"

"You're using attacks on me, too!" Aaron shouted. "And if you're so good at fighting, then you would have seen that coming!"

Dewey sighed as he grabbed the remaining scalchop blade from his side. "Yeah, okay, you got me there. I'm not one to be a hypocrite."

"That's what I thought! You keep saying that I lack the finesse of a true fighter, but what I lack in finesse, I more than make up for it with why is it so cold in here?"

"Yes, you could say that."

Aaron spun around, realising that it was too late to dodge the thin beam of ice shooting directly for him. He felt it strike his arm first, and almost as soon as it hit, it became encased in a thin layer of uneven ice. Intense frigidity spread throughout his whole body in a matter of seconds as he made a desperate attempt to move, but the majority of his body – his limbs and torso – had been rendered immobile, leaving only his head to sway back and forth in a futile struggle.

Nick stepped out from behind him, sniggering all the while. "Remember all the way back in Chapter 7, when I used Ice Beam, and then in Chapter 8, when I said something along the lines of 'don't expect me to do a thing like that again'?"

"Vaguely," Aaron managed to say, his lower jaw becoming motionless.

"I lied."

Before his mouth froze over entirely, Aaron muttered through gritted teeth, "You're a huge dick."

"Ooh, harsh words, mister! I shall have you spanked for such a thing!"

Dewey chimed in, as ever. "Please, Nick. Enough of the sexual imagery."

Nick breathed out a heavy sigh as he watched the remainder of Aaron's head become encased in ice, leaving him locked in his half-turned pose, his eyes open wide, fingers sprawled out, teeth gritting angrily. He began to panic, as he realised the lack of air holes in a block of ice was cutting off his supply of air, and his eyes began to dart left and right. **(It's a fanfic based on a cartoon-slash-anime! I'm allowed to have him do that!)**

"You might have noticed the lack of oxygen, or whatever, in there," Dewey began to obnoxiously point out. "You have a few minutes of air left before you suffocate. Have fun."

_WHAT?! ARE YOU ACTUALLY TRYING TO KILL ME?! _It was at this point that the hapless rodent began to struggle against his icy confines, though with no luck. _To think, that Nick is going to be responsible for my death! Of all people!_

Meanwhile, on the outside, Nick and Dewey watched over patiently as a Pikachu trapped in a block of ice continued to do nothing about it. "How long do you reckon he'll last?" Nick asked.

Dewey folded his arms. "Give him a few minutes before he kicks the bucket."

_Why are you talking about me like I'm not going to survive? And for that matter, why are you not helping me out of here?! Goddamnit, I want out! It's freaking cold in here! And there's that itch on my tail again!_

Dewey and Nick were now sitting at a table, wearing monocles and sipping cups of tea. "I do say, old chap," Nick began, dashing the cup from his lips, "it is quite the extraordinary day outside today!"

"Mmm, yes, quite," Dewey replied, his eyes closed as he sipped his tea. "But how do you have the slightest idea of the weather? Why, I do believe that we are being held captive by those no-good rapscallion Galactics, who have imprisoned us in this quite drab little room with no way to see what it looks like outside! What say you, old boy?"

"I was leading you astray, my good friend," Nick confessed. "In our country, it's always as grey and lifeless as your mother's heart, ho ho."

"Riveting," Dewey remarked.

_Where in the hell did they get... Ngh! It doesn't matter! They're sitting there drinking tea and letting me die in the background! _The forced immobility reminded Aaron of a certain situation many chapters back, in which he found himself in trouble with the Pokemon Hunters, and turned to stone. _This is getting to be a recurring thing, isn't it? Me being turned into a statue or frozen or whatever, and everyone getting a kick out of it._ Of course, this brought back painful memories, but he also thought of how he escaped in that situation. _Why am I just sitting here struggling when I could be firing up an electric attack to break the ice? Well, probably because that's illogical, but my eyes are moving while I'm frozen, so anything could work, right? _

Dewey pegged a basketball at Nick, hitting him square in the nose as he shouted "Heads up!"

"What did you do that for?!"

"Because I hate you?"

"You hate me...?" Nick grabbed the basketball and threw it to the side.

"Yes?"

"Couldn't you be a little more subtle about it?"

"...No?"

Ignoring the argument (_It's hard to make them out when your ears are covered in ice..._) Aaron decided it was time for action. Immediately he tried for a ThunderShock, but nothing seemed to happen. He felt the electricity through him, ready to burst out of his cheeks, but that's as far as it went. A Thunderbolt seemed to result in the same feeling – he felt the electricity, but he couldn't release it for some reason.

He noticed, through his semi-opaque vision, that Nick was starting to look a little restless. _That's it! Time for action!_

A flash of green light drew the attention of Dewey, as well as Aaron's captor, as they saw the frozen Pikachu was emanating a warm green glow. Still he remained in his surprised pose, but small flickers of electricity surrounded him. Slowly but surely they grew more intense.

Aaron could feel his breathing start to waive, but trying his best to ignore it, he continued to focus on his attack. The sheer amount of electricity flowing through him begged for release.

Then... FLASH!

Shards of ice flew everywhere; it took Dewey and Nick an amount of effort to dodge them while they were blinded by the intense light that Aaron had caused. When the light began to fade, the two of them caught a glimpse of Aaron through squinted eyes, and what they saw surprised them at first.

There was Aaron, surrounded in a ball of green electricity, hovering in the air. "The Giga Volt Tackle... never fails!" He shouted joyously, though in the midst of panting.

Dewey opened his mouth, prepared to give his congratulations, but was interrupted by a sudden blast of electricity that went whizzing past his face. He could feel it mere inches from his face, making his fur stand on end. He stood gobsmacked for a second. "What... What was that for?!"

"Payback!" Aaron replied, his feet landing softly on the ground, the electricity enveloping him slowly dissolving into the air. "How's that for unexpected?! That's for trying to asphyxiate me!"

Nick sniggered. "Heh. That's a pretty big word for-"

"Don't push my luck, Nick." The croc in question stepped back when he saw the same green sparks emanating from Aaron's cheeks once more. "You're not any better off in this situation."

"H-hey! Come on, man!" Nick jumped back, shaking his stubby forearms to and fro. "Leave me out of this! Dewey told me what to do, that's all!"

"Your mother told you what to do!"

This caught Nick off guard. "That doesn't even make sense!"

"Your face doesn't make sense!"

Dewey tried to say something, but Nick ignored him, instead trying to win the petty argument with Aaron. "I know it doesn't! This stupid thing isn't useful for anything! But it's better than your face!" Aaron was taken aback suddenly, gripping his cheeks, as Nick continued. "Look at those red cheeks! What are you supposed to be, a freaking clown or something?"

"Leave my face out of this!"

Dewey again tried to intercept, but Aaron shouted over the top of him. "Lucky you kept your human voice when you turned into a Totodile, because that stupid thing's voice is the most retarded thing I've heard!"

It was Nick's turn to be shocked. "Uh, that escalated quickly... I thought we were just having a bit of fun..."

The two of them hat quietened down enough for Dewey to finally jump in. Yet, not a single word was said; he grunted, and pointed a finger to the Weavile standing outside the containment, with two burly Machoke alongside him, holding small, grey cylindrical devices in their thick hands.

This was enough to get Aaron flared up, but when he saw a blue-haired man enter the room, casually walking down the stairs before strolling over to and staring blankly into the containment cell, he turned his attention to him entirely, and began to growl. "Cyrus! Just who I wanted to see!"

-[oOo]-

Luke stood panting, slowly and sorely readying himself into a combat stance, pushing one arm further out in front of him than the other. His eyes darted around the small blue room, catching a glimpse of the wooden targets in the shape of human figures, raising up from small gaps in the polished floor.

He shut his eyes for a second, hearing nothing but the short, hard breaths flowing from his nose. He allowed himself a few seconds of recuperation, lowering his stance only for a moment, until he felt only the slightest bit of pain subside from his arms and legs, before his eyes shot open.

It happened in the space of a second; the lizard darted for the nearest target and slung his thick green tails into it, shattering it into splinters. Not letting up, he raced to the next one, slamming his side into it and watching it explode into a million pieces as well. He felt a splinter pierce his side, but tried his best to ignore it.

He shot towards the next one, even faster than before, his body becoming nothing more than a green blur. He flung his fist into the torso of one target, leaving a gaping hole in its place, as he leaped towards the next one, swinging his foot into its head, knocking it clean off. Before he even landed, he spun around, loosing small seeds from his mouth that whizzed through the air, all but one of them slicing through the remaining target on the far side of the room.

The stray seed planted itself in the wall, inches away from an Excadrill's face. "That's some speed you got there."

Standing up slowly, Luke dusted himself off and turned towards the source of the complimenting voice. "Bureka? How long have you been standing there?"

"Only about a minute or so. Mind you, I saw you clear sixteen targets in that one minute. That's really incredible, ya know?"

Luke ran the back of his hand across his mouth, followed by a loud slurping noise. "Yeah? Well, I sure hope so."

"You really should give it a rest, though," Bureka suggested, pointing a claw towards the camera in the corner of the room. "You've been going for about an hour now."

"I don't have any time to waste, Bureka," Luke replied hastily, spitting a seed into his hand and flinging it at one of the destroyed dummies. "I know I said I wanted to be the Anuller, but the truth is, I've had barely any combat experience."

"You sure?" Bureka quizzed. "I mean, if you haven't, then you sure had me played for a fool." He kinked his head toward the target closest to him, which lay scattered on the floor in an uncountable number of pieces. "But even then, you need rest. Going at it like this is only going to make things-"

Another set of targets appeared from beneath the floor, and Luke turned his attention to them. He slammed his tail into one of them, leaped towards the wall and rebounded off of it with his feet, shooting Bullet Seed at a far off target and slogging his fist into another. As his feet set foot on the ground (**punny!**) he fell to one knee panting heavily and struggling to stand again.

Bureka pushed his way through the last of the targets and ran towards Luke. "You're pushing yourself too hard, Luke! At least get some rest before you do any more training!"

"No, I can't!" Luke shouted, attempting to push Bureka away, but instead toppling over onto the floor with a soft thud. Bureka tried to help him up, but still he denied his help, slowly pushing himself up onto his hands and knees. He struggled for a few moments to raise himself to his feet, but eventually gave in to exhaustion, rolling over onto his back.

Bureka sighed at seeing him in such a weak, vulnerable state. He crouched down and, somehow without managing to stab him with his massive claws, lifted Luke onto his back. "Come on. We'll take you to see Sumiye, she'll get you fixed up." He felt something thump against his back, and jumped to the conclusion that it was Luke's fist. "Hey, hey, hey! What was that for? I'm trying to help you out here!"

"No, I didn't mean..." He heard Luke shout in frustration under his breath, falling silent for a few seconds afterward. Bureka decided to break the silence, but Luke beat him to it. "I just... I just gotta save Aaron, is all... I can't let him die like this..."

"Can you stop it with all the sad, sappy stuff?" Bureka replied, leading him out into the corridor. "I can't handle friendship speeches and all that."

Luke had ignored him, instead slightly concerned that everything around him had darkened in his vision. He thought he was about to pass out, but realised that the lights in the lifeless hall were quite dull, thus his worry faded.

"Listen," Bureka began, grabbing the attention of the worn-out Treecko clinging to his back. "Don't be afraid to ask us for help, alright? I know some of us Crusaders seem pretty intimidating, but we're all good guys around here!" He lifted up his right arm, showing off the massive claw that made up half of the stubby limb. "Just because I occasionally cut people doesn't mean I'm the kind of person who cuts whoever he _talks_ to."

"Eh... Thanks..." Luke wasn't sure if that was supposed to be comforting or not. He decided it was time to leap off of his back, and though he stumbled as he landed, he climbed back to his feet without a hitch. "I think I can walk on my own. I don't need you carrying me around like I'm a little kid."

"Even though you kind of are..." Luke scowled at Bureka, and he began to fret. "N-never mind what I said! Come on, we should go see Sumiye as soon as possible. You wanna keep training, right?"

The scowling faded, and Luke began to follow Bureka down the dimly lit corridor without so much as a word. This went on for a few minutes, with only numbered doors and a single flickering light providing a small change of scenery. The silence went on too long for Bureka to handle, so he frantically began to think of something to ask Luke, who had been wandering – limping, even – behind him the whole time, not once abandoning the serious look etched to his face.

Finally, something occurred to Bureka, something that he, and a few others, had been asking themselves about for the last few hours. Now was the perfect opportunity to ask, it seemed. "Why do you care so much about that Aaron kid, anyway?"

Luke was taken aback by the sudden question thrown at him, but was nevertheless quick to respond. "The guy's got his whole life ahead of him. I mean, he's not the smartest at maths or English or anything like that, but when it comes to Pokémon, his knowledge is...unmatched." He gripped his leg, trying to quell the sudden shot of pain that he felt. "There's no telling where he could go with those kinda smarts. Plus, he's got himself a girl, and then there's his father, who he thinks is dead and has been for six years..."

Bureka turned his head until he could see the Treecko behind him in the corner of his eye, as he kept walking. "Don't you have friends and family? What about your life? You've still got that ahead of you, right?"

Luke opened his mouth and stuttered, realising he didn't have a definitive answer to the question. It took a moment for him to gather his thoughts. "I... I guess? I mean... I don't know exactly how much my family would miss me... I wasn't really the 'golden child' they wanted me to be..."

"But you still have all that to go back to... So, why? Why go through with this?"

The onslaught of questions was beginning to muddle Luke's mind as it searched for a feasible response, one that he himself would actually believe. There seemed to be many reasons as to why he took up the duty as the Annuler, but there wasn't a definite reason for it all...at least, not one that he could immediately recall.

"Hey, I get it. 'Heed the call of the clarion, and ye shall respond in haste!'" He chuckled at himself. "I have no idea where I've heard that before..."

Bureka had pretty much dodged the question for Luke, much to his silent gratitude. He was simply unable to give an answer that he believed was sincere, which worried him.

_Just what am I doing this for?_

-[oOo]-

The Machoke pinned Aaron to the ground, holding one hulking hand to his chest as he readied the cylindrical device in his other. Aaron struggled against it, but failed to take notice of his perpetrator grabbing the device and securing it to his wrists almost as quickly as he had been pinned down.

He felt the weight of the Machoke's hand leave his chest, and clambered to his feet, or at least, he tried to – the device had clamped over his hands, locking them inside. He tried to push himself up, and after a few too many fumbles and tumbles, he managed to push himself to his feet, albeit very groggily.

He looked to his right; both Dewey and Nick had already had the constrictive devices fastened to their arms, both of them glaring at the man responsible. Aaron followed suit; the blue-haired man he despised with every fibre in his body as standing before him, looking down upon him with the same droopy eyes he always had.

Aaron was about ready to unload a mouthful on him when he felt something pinch his tail and lift him into the air. Something ticked inside of him when he felt his tail being grabbed, and his initial instinct told him to loose an electric shock on the unsuspecting target...yet, he couldn't. Something seemed to prevent him from releasing any electricity. _In fact... why the heck do I feel so weak all of a sudden?_

Naturally, all that was left to do was fling himself about madly, in the hopes that the Machoke who had picked him up would let him free. The pile of muscles, however, seemed perfectly fine with holding the Pikachu right in front of Cyrus' face.

He stopped struggling. There he was, mere inches from the Galactic leader's face. He was staring down the very person he was supposed to annul, and there was not a thing he could do about it.

"What're you gonna do now, huh? You just gonna sit here and torture us?" He began to thrash about again. "We'll just sit here and rot in this little cage of yours, because that's what you want! So long as Cyrus gets his own way, huh?!"

Cyrus continued to stare him down.

"You gonna answer me?!"

Finally, Cyrus spoke, his face unchanging. "Yes. That is my intention."

Aaron made an attempt to hurl himself at the blue-haired man, but the Machoke instead let go of his tail, and all watched as he landed with a spectacular crash against the cold, hard floor. Instead of scrambling to his feet again, he simply knelt on his knees, struggling to keep his balance with the lack of his arms.

He looked up at Cyrus, who looked down upon him, as ever with the same unemotional face that he had grown to hate. If ever there were a time where he felt like nothing more than an animal, it was now. He was nothing more than a helpless little mouse, the human that towered over him dominating him with his sheer presence. A tall shadow cast over the hissing Pikachu, further degrading him.

"Your little stunt before required special attention. As such, we have placed these restrictive bracers over your hands, to not only restrict your movement, but to drain you of your energy. Escape will be impossible."

Aaron inched ever closer, feeling weak as he dragged himself along on his knees. "You're...going to pay for this, Cyrus." He fell to the floor, throwing his constricted arms out in front of him to save his fall. "Mark my words. I don't care what it takes, or even how long it takes... I will be the one to Annul you, you can be sure of it!"

Cyrus and the two Machoke made their way out of the cell, the opaque glass sliding shut behind them, and the three of them made their way up the stairs and out of the room. However, the Weavile – Dante – remained, staring at the weakened captives with pity. "Well, this is quite the sight..."

"You, shut it," Dewey snapped, beginning to feel the effects of the bracer around his own hands.

"No, no, no, if it so pleases you, I think I'll keep talking. You see..." He cleared his throat. "Cyrus has been making a lot of progress with the whole red chain ordeal. And I know I said something along the lines of sixty hours? Well... I think we're looking at twenty-four, now."

"God damnit!" Aaron shouted. "When are you going to realise what you're doing is wrong?!"

Dante smirked, as he turned and made his way to the exit. "Hmm... Give me around twenty-five hours and maybe I'll think about it." The mechanical door whooshed shut behind him.

Aaron lowered his head, panting. It seemed the device clamped around his hands was starting to take noticeable effect, and he was suffering for it, unable to raise himself to his feet. A few seconds and he gave in, falling to the floor. He attempted to push himself up again, but he simply lacked the energy. He was still conscious, fully aware of the surroundings, fully aware of his two friends shouting at him from what seemed to be from several hundred metres away.

His hearing was muffled. He wanted to reply, but he lacked even the energy to speak.

He saw Dewey and Nick move towards him, though his vision was starting to become blurred as well. He could still make them out, though, watching them drop to their knees and collapse to the floor, their cries slowly fading into nothing but sad whimpers.

Amidst the pain and the lack of energy, Aaron had felt something he had not felt for some time. He had not wanted to believe himself in feeling it, but he couldn't rid himself of it.

The feeling of all hope, fading away...

-[oOo]-

**Aaron: **That is not how it happened!

**Vale: **Nope, I saw you, lying there, face flat on the ground, crying for your mummy.

**Aaron: **Hate you, Vale.

**Vale: **Yeah, whatever. Join the club. Anyway, thanks to **Mewtastic** for her usual random review. Of course, you'll be paying for that hole in the ceiling, I hope.

The whole "Aaron and Luke duking it out" thing was very spur of the moment, actually. I needed some sort of twist, something that would alleviate the sense that there would just be a climactic fight and that would be it. There needed to be some sort of emotional driving force behind it, and the development (or lack thereof) of these two characters allowed me to pull this off, at least I hope. Only time will tell, of course, how it all plays out.

Funny story. I was about to upload this story, and literally as I clicked "Manage stories", my mum WENT INTO LABOUR. Is that how you spell it? Iunno. Anyway, this would have been here a week earlier, but, y'know, babies and stuff.

Again.

**Aaron: **It's 'cause your mum's a harlot!

**Vale: ***holds up rusty carving knife* Remember this thing? Remember how much it hurt?

Anyway, leave us a review and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear an opinion on this new little titbit of narrative.

Oh, and more humourous stuff soon. I know this is getting kinda serious at the moment, but it can't really be helped, can it?

Hey this is my longest chapter! Huzzah! Don't know why. It was all angst and friendship and stuff.

So, let's hope I can get another chapter out before my b'day on September 5. Jks, I'll have another up soon, I promise.

I hope.

I'm a shut up now.


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